I 


UMASS/AMHERST  0 


illllillllllllill 


3150bbDlimS731 


MASSACHUSETTS 
STATE    COLLEGE 


LIBRARY 


S 

537 

R5A3 


^UU  »f  §UAt  M^UM  mA  ^Xf^vUma  W^mMUn 


» 

OCBjB./  Z-X 

REPORT 

OF  THE 

COMMISSION  OF  INQUIRY 

APPOIN'  El      ^  SPECIAL,    EXAMINATION    OF    THE 

EHODE  ISLAND  COLLEGE  OF  AGEICULTUEE 
AND  MECHANIC  AETS 


BY  RESOLUTION  OF  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY,  PASSED 
MAI   26,  1908 


PEESENTED  TO  THE  GENEEAL  ASSEMBLY  APEIL  16,  1909 


PB(        r»F^C        R.    X 

Tj.    FBEE        »  «^         OMPANY,      STATE      PRINTER! 
1909. 


^UU  at  §bail(  island  anil  providence  f^Iantatinnis 
REPORT 

OF  THE 

COMMISSION  OF  INQUIRY 

■  APPOINTED    FOR    SPECIAL    EXAMINATION    OF    THE 

EHODE  ISLAND  COLLEGE  OF  AGEICULTURE 
AND  MECHANIC  AETS 


BY  RESOLUTION  OF  THE  CxENERAL  ASSEiVIBLY,  PASSED 
MAY  26,  1908 


PRESENTED  TO  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  APRIL  16,  1909 


PROVIDENCE,    R.    I. 

B.     L.     FREEMAN      COMPANY,      STATE      PRINTERS. 

1909. 


K^t'  OS*^  CJM* 

4 


I 


g'tatf  nf  ISIia5t  3l0laul>  anii  Prout&tnrp  piantattntta. 


Resolution  (No.  8)  to  Appoint  a  Commission  in  Reference  to  the  Rhode 
Island  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts. 

[Passed  by  the  General  Assembly,  May  26,  1908.] 

Resolved,  That  the  commissioner  of  public  schools,  James  E.  Sullivan,  of  Nar- 
ragansett;  Charles  H.  Ward,  of  Middletown;  George  F.  Weston,  of  Providence; 
and  Etienne  C.  Delabarre,*  of  Woonsocket,  be  and  they  hereby  are  appointed  a 
commission  to  visit  the  Rhode  Island  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts, 
make  a  study  of  its  aims,  plans  and  work,  determine  its  educational  value  to  the 
state,  consider  ways  and  means  by  which  its  service  to  the  state  may  be  enhanced, 
and  report  thereon,  with  such  other  suggestions  as  they  may  deem  proper,  to  the 
General  Assembly  at  its  session  of  1909. 

Any  vacancy  that  may  occur  in  said  commission  may  be  filled  by  the  Governor. 

The  members  of  said  commission  shall  receive  no  compensation  for  this  service ; 
but  the  state  auditor  is  hereby  directed  to  draw  his  orders  upon  the  general 
treasurer,  for  the  payment  of  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  members,  incurred 
in  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  on  the  presentation  of  properly  authenticated 
vouchers. 

*Resigned.     Hormisdas  J.  Cartier,  of  Warwick,  appointed  by  the  Governor. 


REPORT. 


To  the  Honorable  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island: 

In  compliance  with  the  requirements  of  a  resolution  adopted  by 
the  General  Assembly,  May  26,  1908,  the  Commission  thereby  ap- 
pointed respectfully  presents  to  your  honorable  body  its  report. 

I.     INTRODUCTION. 

In  assuming  the  duties  assigned  it  by  the  General  Assembly,  the 
Commission  realized  that  its  task  was  important  and  difficult,  but  it 
soon  found  that  it  had  undertaken  a  work  more  complex  and  exten- 
sive than  could  have  been  anticipated.  It  began  the  examination 
of  one  institution  and  found  itself  involved  in  a  study  of  a  national 
system  of  fifty  colleges  and  universities.  Its  members  began  their 
work  with  a  limited  knowledge  of  this  class  of  institutions  and  with 
minds  free  from  prejudice  and  preconceived  judgments.  They  have 
performed  their  work  with  unanimity  in  their  purpose  to  ascertain 
exact  facts  and  form  true  judgments  from  those  facts.  They  have 
sought  to  eliminate  personal  opinion,  so  far  as  possible,  and  to  seek 
conclusions  produced  or  justified  by  fact.  For  these  reasons,  the  Com- 
mission is  able  to  present  a  report  which  is  absolutely  unanimous. 

In  general,  it  became  the  duty  of  the  Commission  to  examine  the 
Rhode  Island  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts  and  make 
Function  of  ^  report  thereou  to  the  General  Assembly.  Its  specific 
ommission.  (ju-^igg^  ^g  indicated  by  the  resolve  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly, were  as  follows:  To  learn  the  purpose  of  the  founding  of  the 
college,  for  an  understanding  of  its  true  aims;  to  visit  the  institution 
and  make  a  critical  examination  of  its  equipment;  to  inquire  into  its 


4  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

organization,  plans,  and  adminstration;  to  examine  its  courses  of 
study  and  instruction;  to  determine  its  value  and  appraise  the  ben- 
efits it  confers  on  the  state;  to  consider  ways  and  means  for  its  im- 
provement, whereby  it  may  render  better  service  to  the  state;  and  to 
make  report  to  the  General  Assembly  at  its  session  of  1909.  In 
other  words,  the  Commission  was  to  seek  answers  to  such  questions 
as  the  following:  Why  does  the  college  exist?  Is  it  profitable  to  the 
state  to  continue  its  maintenance?  If  not,  shall  it  be  abolished, 
or  shall  it  be  made  profitable?  If  profitable,  how  may  it  be  made 
more  efficient  and  serviceable? 

Soon  after  its  appointment,  and  before  its  organization,  Etienne  C. 
„,  „      .         Delabarre  resigned  from  the  Commission;  and  to  fill  the 

Oiiange  in  ■^  ' 

-ommission.  y^gg^j^cy  Hormisdas  J.  Cartier,  of  Warwick,  was  appointed 
by  the  Governor. 

The  Commission  was  organized  temporarily  and  began  its  work  early 

in  July.     Walter  E.  Ranger,  ex-offi,cio  member  as  Commissioner  of 

.    ^.        Public  Schools,  served  temporarily  as  chairman  and  was 

Organization  '  ^  ^ 

of  Commission,  g^j^ggq^jg^tly  elected  permanent  chairman.  George  F. 
Weston,  a  member  of  the  Commission,  served  as  secretary  for  a  time. 
In  November  the  work  had  become  such  as  to  require  the  services  of 
a  permanent  secretary,  who  could  aid  the  Commission  in  its  investi- 
gations by  obtaining  and  tabulating  desired  information.  Dr. 
Arthur  J.  Jones,  who  had  had  experience  in  educational  investiga- 
tions, was  chosen  for  the  service,  and  has  ably  assisted  the  Commis- 
sion in  its  work. 

In  the  performance  of  its  duties,  the  Commission  has  held  more 
than  twenty  meetings,  at  most  of  which  all  members  have  been  pres- 
its  work  ®^*  ^^^  ^*  ^^^  °^  which  a  majority  has  been  present.     In 

summarized,  addition  there  have  been  many  conferences  between  mem- 
bers. All  of  its  members  have  repeatedly  visited  the  college,  and 
one  or  more  of  its  members  have  visited  similar  institutions  in  all  of 
the  New  England  states.  Three  members  attended  the  twenty-second 
annual  meeting  of  the  Association  of  American  Agricultural  Colleges 
and   Experiment  Stations  held   in   Washington,    November   18-20, 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF   INQUIRY.  5 

1908,  at  which  they  obtained  invaluable  information  and  assistance 
for  their  work.  It  has  advertised  and  held  one  public  hearing,  and 
has  held  several  private  hearings.  Its  members  have  been  in  com- 
munication with  many  citizens,  holding  divergent  opinions,  and  have 
profited  by  the  information  and  judgments  thus  obtained.  There 
has  been  considerable  correspondence  with  other  institutions  and  with 
citizens  of  the  state.  From  the  first,  members  of  the  Commission 
have  procured  and  read  many  publications  relating  to  the  "land- 
grant"  colleges,  especially  those  bearing  on  questions  under  consid- 
eration. Each  member  has  made  independent  investigations,  at 
times  of  his  own  volition  and  at  times  at  the  request  of  the  Com- 
mission. Reports  of  visitations,  examinations,  and  research  have 
been  made  subjects  for  deliberation  at  its  meetings.  From  such 
deliberation  has  issued  this  report. 

In  view  of  the  criticisms  of  this  state'  institution,  freely  and  pub- 
licly made,  the  contradictory  representations  and  judgments  of  its 
vfork  and  value,  and  the  grave  doubt  of  our  people  re- 

Its  aim. 

garding  its  proper  function  in  our  educational  system 
and  its  usefulness  to  state  and  nation,  the  Commission  fully  appre- 
ciates the  opportunity  of  service  in  the  attempt  to  settle  perma- 
nently some  of  the  questions  in  controversy.  It  entered  upon  its 
work  with  the  purpose  to  gain  a  true  knowledge  of  facts  and  con- 
ditions, and  to  set  before  the  public  such  a  statement  of  them  as 
would  enable  it  to  form  true  judgments.  It  did  this  with  the  hope 
that  it  might  make  an  end  of  useless  and  harmful,  and  sometimes 
trivial,  disputes  regarding  the  college,  and  make  clear  what  course 
the  state  should  pursue  in  respect  to  it.  In  presenting  this  report 
the  Commission  has  attempted  to  maintain  a  judicial  attitude,  to 
present  true  facts  and  sincere  judgments,  and  to  offer  only  such 
conclusions  and  recommendations  as  will  stand  the  test  of  future  years. 
In  beginning  its  work  the  Commission  soon  realized  that  the  Rhode 
Island  college  is  one  of  a  national  system  of  collegiate  institutions. 
Its  plan  of  ^^^^  ^^  related  to  them,  as  the  state  itself  is  related  to  the 
nation.     To  know  the  true  purpose  and  possibilities  of 


6 


RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 


our  own  institution  it  became  necessary  to  make  a  study  of  the  foun- 
dation, development,  and  conditions  of  others.  This  became  the 
first  task  of  the  Commission,  that  the  true  place  of  the  college  might 
be  found.  Such  knowledge  was  sought  also  that  the  value  of  the 
Rhode  Island  college  might  be  measured  by  the  standards  of  other 
institutions.  Examination  of  conditions  at  the  college  was  sup- 
plemented by  comparison  with  conditions  elsewhere.  For  ways 
and  means  of  improvement,  suggestions  were  sought  and  found  in 
the  experience  of  older  colleges,  which  have  solved  many  of  the  same 
problems  as  perplex  us.  The  results  of  such  investigation  properly 
form  the  basis  of  this  report,  though  due  attention  is  given  to  peculiar 
conditions  and  interests  of  Rhode  Island.  After  the  Commission 
had  acquainted  itself  with  the  general  aims  and  administration  of 
colleges  founded  in  national  support  and  direction,  it  began  a  sys- 
tematic and  critical  examination  of  the  college  in  all  its  departments. 
Assignments  for  special  investigation  were  given  to  the  several  members 
whose  findings  were  reported,  considered,  and  rectified,  when  neces- 
sary, in  the  deliberations  of  the  Commission.  The  following  outline 
will  indicate  the  scope  of  the  examination,  the  results  of  which  con- 
stitute an  important  section  of  the  report.  Each  group  indicates  an 
assignment  to  a  member  of  the  Commission: 


Administration. 

1.  Finance  and  administra- 

tration  offices. 

2.  State  support  and  con- 

trol. 

3.  President  and  faculty. 


4.     College  extension. 


Instruction. 
Horticulture,    military 
science  and  tactics,  for- 
eign languages. 

Agriculture,  botany, 
history. 

Chemistry,  geology, 
physics,  mechanical 
and  electrical  engi- 
neering. 

Dormitories  and  dining     Animal         husbandry, 
hall.  civil    engineering,     zo- 

ology, poultry. 


Equipment. 
Buildings  and  grounds. 


Farm  and  farm   build- 
ings, and  machinery. 

Scientific  apparatus. 


KEPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  7 

Administration.  Equipment.  Instruction. 

5.     Experiment  Station.  Library  and  appliances.     Economics,  social  and 

domestic  sciences,  En- 
glish, mathematics, 
psychology. 

With  a  knowledge  of  conditions,  aims,  and  possibilities  in  the 
national  colleges,  more  especially  in  the  Kingston  institution,  various 
criticisms  and  proposals  of  definite  changes,  which  have  been  made, 
were  systematically  considered;  and  the  conclusions  of  the  Com- 
mission are  made  a  part  of  the  report.  In  view  of  information  thus 
secured,  an  effort  was  made  to  prepare  a  true  statement  of  the  public 
value  of  the  college.  Step  by  step,  with  careful  deliberation,  the 
Commission  has  adopted  a  series  of  recommendations,  which  close 
the  report,  in  the  hope  that  they  may  be  helpful  in  determining  ways 
and  means  for  the  improvement  of  the  college  and  in  increasing  its 
value  to  the  state. 

II.     NATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  COLLEGES. 

Probably  nothing  which  the  federal  government  has  done  has  had 
a  more  far-reaching  effect  upon  higher  education  in  this  country 
than  the  grants  of  land  and  money  made  to  the  several  states  for  the 
establishment  of  the  so-called  colleges  of  agriculture  and  mechanic 
arts.  The  various  acts  of  Congress  establishing  these  grants  con- 
stitute the  only  general  law  ever  established  by  the  federal  govern- 
ment for  the  cause  of  education,  no  other  grant  having  applied  to  all 
of  the  States.     A  summary  of  these  grants  is  here  given : 

According  to  the  provisions  of  this  act  the  U.  S.  government  gave  to  each  state 
and  territory  30,000  acres  of  land  for  each  senator  and  representative.  The  pro- 
The  Morrill  ceeds  from  the  sale  of  these  lands  was  to  be  kept  as  a  perpetual  fund, 
-co        -.      ^Yie  capital  of  which  should  remain  undiminished  and  the  interest  of 

■whichshouldbe"  inviolably  appropriated  .  .  .  io  the  endoivment,  support  and  main- 
tenance of  at  least  one  college  where  the  leading  object  shall  be,  without  excluding  other 
scientific  and  classical  studies,  and  including  military  tactics,  to  teach  such  branches  of 
learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  7nechanic  arts,  in  such  mcmner  as  the 
legislature  of  the  states  may  prescribe  in  order  to  promote  the  liberal  and  practical 


8  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and  professions  of  life." 
The  funds  resulting  from  the  sale  of  these  lands  yaried  greatly  in  amount,  some 
being  very  small  and  others  making  a  comfortable  endowment.  Rhode  Island 
received  only  $50,000  for  her  120,000  acres  of  land  or  land  scrip 

This  act  provided  that  the  sum  of  $15,000  be  appropriated  annually  to  each 
state  and  territory  for  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  an  agricultural  ex- 
The  Hatch  periment  station.  These  were  to  be  under  the  direction  of  the  colleges 
Act  of  188/.  founded  in  accordance  with  the  Morrill  Act  of  1862.  The  purpose 
was  "  to  aid  in  acquiring  and  diffusing  among  the  people  of  the  United  States  use- 
ful and  practical  information  on  subjects  connected  with  agriculture,  and  to  pro- 
mote scientific  investigation  and  experiment  respecting  the  principles  and  ap- 
plication of  agricultural  science." 

In  order  to  further  the  interests  of  the  colleges  and  to  give  an  added  impulse 
to  the  movement,  an  act  was  passed  in  1890  by  which  there  was  appropriated 
M  rrill  Act  annually  to  each  college  established  in  accordance  with  the  Morrill 
of  1890.  ^p^  Qf  igQ2,  the  sum  of  $15,000  for  the  year  1890  and  an  additional 

sum  of  $1,000  for  each  year  for  ten  years,  the  sum  finally  equalling  $25,000.  This 
sum  was  "  to  be  applied  only  to  instruction  in  agriculture,  the  mechanic  arts,  the 
English  language  and  the  various  branches  of  mathematical,  physical,  natural 
and  economic  science,  with  special  reference  to  their  application  in  the  industries 
of  life  and  to  the  facilities  for  such  instruction."  Provision  was  made  for  separate 
institutions  for  instruction  of  white  and  colored  students  in  states  which  might 
desire  to  make  such  arrangements.  The  purpose  of  this  grant  of  money  was 
simply  to  increase  the  endowment  provided  by  the  land-grant  of  1862,  and  to  aid 
in  securing  adequate  instruction. 

In  order  to  provide  for  the  more  complete  endowment  and  maintenance  of 
agricultural  experiment  stations,  there  was  appropriated  to  each  the  sum  of  $5,000, 
Adams  Act  ^°^  ^^^  year  1906,  which  sum  should  be  increased  each  year  by  the 
of  1906.  •  amount  of  $2,000  until  the  whole  should  amount,  in  1910,  to  $15,000, 
making  a  total  appropriation  for  each  station  of  $30,000. 

In  1907  a  further  grant  was  made,  "increasing  the  annual  appropriation  made 

under  an  act  approved  Aug.  30,  1890,  in  aid  of  colleges  of  agriculture  and  me- 

Nelson  chanic  arts."     This  provided  for  an  appropriation  of  $5,000  for  the 

Amendment  ^       ,.  n-vi  • 

of  1907.  year  1907,  and  an  increase  of  $5,000  for  each  year  for  four  years.     Ihis 

will  amount  to  $25,000  in  1911,  making  a  total  appropriation  annually  of  $50,000 

to  be  applied  only  for  the  purposes  of  the  agricultural  colleges  as  defined  and 

limited  by  the  previous  acts.     This  was  merely  an  extension  of  the  Morrill  Act 

of  1890,  and  carried  the  same  restrictions. 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  9 

As  can  readily  be  seen  by  an  examination  of  the  main  provisions  of 
the  grants  here  given,  the  purpose  in  view  in  the  establishment  of 
Purpose  of  the  these  collcges  was  very  broad  and  enabled  the  colleges  to 

grants  very 

broad.  adapt  themselves  to  the  needs  of  the  states  in  which  they 

were  located.  It  may  be  noted,  in  the  first  place,  that  it  was  by  no 
means  the  purpose  of  Congress  to  provide  merely  for  a  narrow  train- 
ing along  the  lines  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts,  but  to  provide 
higher  education  for  the  working  people. 

In  the  words  of  Senator  Morrill,  "The  fundamental  idea  was  to 
offer  an  opportunity  in  every  state  for  a  liberal  and  larger  education 
Liberal  ^^  larger  numbers,  not  merely  those  destined  to  sedentary 

e  ucation.  professions,  but  to  those  much  needing  higher  instruction 
for  the  world's  business,  for  the  industrial  pursuits  and  professions 
of  life."  Again  he  says,  "It  was  to  give  a  chance  to  the  industrial 
classes  of  the  country  to  obtain  a  liberal  education,  something  more 
than  what  was  bestowed  by  our  universities  and  colleges  in  general, 
which  seemed  to  be  based  more  on  the  English  plan  of  giving  educa- 
tion only  to  what  might  be  called  the  professional  classes,  in  law, 
medicine  and  theology."  (Speech  in  behalf  of  the  University  of  Ver- 
mont Agricultural  College,  1890,  p.  11.) 

In  opposition  to  the  thought  of  establishing  mere  agricultural 
schools,  he  says,  "I  should  regard  that  as  a  revolution  and  subversion 
Not  a  icui-  ^^  *^®  whole  idea  of  the  land-grant  act  of  1862,  which  is 
tura  sc  00  s.  ^£  ^  much  broader  kind.  It  included,  to  be  sure,  the  idea 
that  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts  were  to  have  a  leading  or  first 
position,  but  it  included  much  more.  It  was  for  the  industrial  classes, 
to  promote  their  instruction  generally,  and  it  was  not  to  exclude  even 
the  classics.  Therefore,  I  should  regard  any  change  from  the  original 
act  as  a  diversion  of  the  fund  and  a  revolution  of  the  whole  practical 
idea." 

These  colleges  were,  then,  to  provide,  at  public  expense,  higher  educa- 
tion for  the  industrial  classes  and  a  type  of  education  better  suited  to 
Not  to  dis-       their  needs  than  that  of  the  colleges  and  universities  then 

place  classical 

colleges.  existing.     They  were  not  designed  to  take  the  place  of 


10  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

the  traditional  classical  college,  but  to  supplement  it.  We  shall  see, 
however,  that  they  have  gone  far  beyond  the  purpose  of  their  founder 
and  have  not  only  supplemented  the  older  institution  but  enlarged 
■  and  broadened  the  whole  field  of  public  education  until  it  is  now  pos- 
sible, in  many  of  our  states,  for  a  boy  or  girl  to  receive  all  the  grades 
of  education  from  the  kindergarten  to  the  university  absolutely  free 
as  far  as  tuition  is  concerned,  and  to  receive  an  education  equal  to 
any  given  in  the  world.  This  idea  and  this  realization  of  a  complete 
and  a  universal  free  education  for  all  classes  we  owe  very  largely  to 
the  foresight  of  the  founders  of  this  system  of  national  colleges  and 
to  the  munificence  of  the  gifts  of  land  and  money. 

In  the  second  place  it  is  to  be  noted  that  Congress  never  intended 
that  the  funds  provided  by  the  government  should  entirely  support 
T,     ,.     ,  ,      such  institutions.     The  various  grants  were  merely  to 

To  stimulate  °  -^ 

state  support,  g^jj^ulate  the  states  and  locahties  so  that  they  would  give 
more  liberally  for  the  purpose  mentioned.  "The  federal  govern- 
ment intended  the  grant  should  form  a  nucleus  in  each  of  the  several 
states,  around  which  buildings,  libraries,  laboratories,  workshops, 
gymnasiums,  military  halls  and  other  educational  appliance  should  be 
grouped,  by  means  of  private  munificence  and  state  bounty."  (Fed- 
eral and  State  Aid  to  Higher  Education.  Frank  W.  Blackman. 
Bureau  of  Education  Circular  of  Information,  No.  1,  1890,  p.  49.) 
The  states  have,  as  a  rule,  supported  these  institutions  very  well  in- 
deed. In  1907,  they  gave  for  their  support  an  average  of  over  three 
(3)  dollars  for  every  dollar  received  by  them  from  the  federal  govern- 
ment. 

Federal  Aid  to  National  Colleges. 

The  total  amount  of  land  and  money  given  by  the  federal  govern- 
ment for  the  purpose  of  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  this 
Total  federal  ^^P^  °^  educatiou  is  appreciated  by  very  few.  The  fol- 
^^  ■  lowing  table  may  serve  to  give  some  idea  of  the  enormous 

value  of  the  gifts  of  land  and  money: 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  11- 

Table  I. 

Total  number  of  acres  of  land  or  land  scrip  under  Act  of  1862 10,320,834 

Of  this  (1907)  there  remains  unsold 779,393 

Land-grant  fund  received  from  sale  of  lands $12,744,467 

Value  of  unsold  land 4,858,111 

Total  money  value  of  land  grant $17,602,578 

Total  money  given  by  the  government  (1909) 129,497,000 

Value  of  land-grant  fund  and  unsold  land  (1907) 17,602,578 

Grand  total  money  value  of  all  gifts  under  these  grants $47,098,578 

The  amount  of  land  given  by  the  national  government  equals  in 
area  one-half  of  the  State  of  Maine;  the  states  of  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  could  all  be  formed  from  it  and  still 
leave  land  enough  for  another  state  the  size  of  Rhode  Island. 

When  we  consider  the  enormous  money  value  of  these  gifts,  the 
conditions  under  which  they  were  given  to  the  states,  and  the  purpose 
of  the  gifts,  we  can  appreciate  in  some  measure  the  great  influence 
exerted  by  the  government  over  the  higher  education.  The  federal 
government  gives  this  year,  1909,  to  these  national  colleges  13,264,000, 
or  a  million  dolars  more  than  the  entire  income  of  the  State  of  Rhode 
Island. 

Development  and  Present  Numbers. 

Leaving  out  of  account  the  institutions  exclusively  for  colored 
students,  we  may  notice  four  main  types  of  institutions  represented 
Types  of  col-   ^^  these  national  colleges : 

^°^^'  First,  colleges  where    courses  in  agriculture  only  are 

offered.     The  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College  is  the  only  school 
of  this  type. 

Second,  colleges  where  courses  in  agriculture  are  not  offered.  The 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  is  the  only  institution  which 
can  be  placed  here,  although  in  1907  the  University  of  Arizona  re- 
ported no  students  in  agriculture. 

Third,  colleges  which    offer   courses   in  agriculture  and  mechanic 


12 


RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 


arts  and  allied  subjects  and  which  do  not  attempt  to  give  instruc- 
tions in  liberal  arts.  About  twenty-five  institutions  are  of  this  type, 
among  which  is  the  Rhode  Island  college. 

Fourth,  colleges  (or  departments  or  schools)  of  agriculture  in  uni- 
versities. There  are  twenty-one  institutions  of  this  type,  of  which 
nineteen  are  state  universities. 

Some  of  these  universities  themselves  were  founded  as  agricultural 
schools,  and  later  developed  into  state  universities,  as  for  example 
Influence  of  ^^®  University  of  Maine.  This  is  very  significant  as  in- 
federaiaid.  clicatiug  the  tremeudous  influence  on  higher  education 
which  has  been  exerted  by  the  federal  government,  through  the 
agency  of  the  land  and  money  given  to  the  colleges.  By  the 
terms  of  the  grants  they  must  be  at  least  partially  supported  by 
the  state,  they  cannot  be  private  institutions,  and  hence  the  tend- 
ency to  develop  into  some  kind  of  a  state  university. 

The  growth  of  the  institutions  in  number,  in  enrollment  of  students, 

and  in  influence  has  been  remarkable,  especially  since  the  passage 

of  the  second  Morrill  Act  of   1890.     The  following  table 

presents,  in  a  condensed  manner,  the   main  statistics  of 

growth  since  1890,  arranged  in  two  periods  of  ten  years  each.     This 

has  been  compiled  from  statistics  in  the  reports  of  the  United  States 

Bureau  of  Education: 

Table  II. 


Growth. 


No.  of  institutions  (white  and 
colored) ;.  . 

No  of  teachers 

Total  No.  of  students  enrolled 

Total  federal  aid  (exclusive  of 
experiment  stations) 

Total  state  support 

Other  endowments,  fees,  tui- 
tion, etc 

Total  valuation  of  all  prop- 
erty  

Total  income  from  all 
sources  


1890 


36 

735 

9,433 


$537,797 


1,846,075 
5,567,909 


1897 


1900 


■     64 

1,671 

25,069 

[,654,632 
1,938,317 

1,739,077 

5,302,026 


65 

39,503 

$1,844,177 
$2,916,837 

$2,350,735 

$7,311,749 

$54,480,482 


1907 


66 
3,112 

62,781 

$2,105,915 

$7,778,014 

$4,608,955 
$14,492,884 
$97,446,701 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  13 

Several  important  things  deserve  mention  in  tliis  table.  There 
are,  at  present,  sixty-five  separate  institutions  receiving  aid  ac- 
,  cording  to  the  provisions  of  the  federal  grants.     Of  these, 

colleges.  sixteen  are  exclusively  for  colored  students;  the  federal 

grants  of  money  in  some  states  being  divided,  a  portion  going  to 
these  institutions  and  a  portion  to  the  institutions  for  white  students. 
About  fifty  institutions  have  been  called  into  existence  largely,  if  not 
wholly,  by  these  federal  grants,  with  about  twelve  older  institutions 
to  whom  the  grants  of  land  and  money  have  been  given.  But  even 
in  the  case  of  these  older  institutions  the  influence  of  the  aid  given  by 
the  government  has  been  very  great.  In  consequence  of  this  aid  all 
have  been  materially  changed  in  many  ways  and  some  have  been 
completely  reorganized. 

Considering  the  enrollment  of  students,  we  see  that  the  total  num- 
ber in  1907  was  nearly  seven  times  that  in  1890;  that  the  total  in- 
Enroiimont  come  iu  1907  was  nearly  eight  times  larger  than  in  1890, 
and  income.     ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^    ^^^^^   support  in  1907  was  nearly  fifteen 

times  that  in  1890.  Comparing  the  increase  in  federal  aid  with  that 
in  state  support  for  the  ten  years  1897  to  1907,  we  find  that  while  the 
federal  aid  has  increased  a  little  over  a  third,  the  state  support  has 
increased  four  fold,  showing  that  the  original  purpose  of  the  grants 
has  been  amply  fulfilled.  The  institutions  are  receiving,  in  an  ever- 
increasing  proportion,  support  from  the  states  and  the  communities 
in  which  they  are  located. 

In  1907,  the  last  available  statistics,  there  were  in  these  sixty-five 
institutions,  62,781  students;  this  is  more  than  one-fifth  of  all  stu- 
Enroiiment  dents  in  higher  education  in  this  country,  while  the  num- 
compare  .  -j^^^  ^|  these  colleges  is  only  one-tenth  of  all  institutions 
for  higher  education.  Nor  does  this  tell  the  whole  story,  for  in  the 
decade  1897  to  1907  the  enrollment  in  these  sixty-five  colleges  has 
increased  over  150  per  cent.,  while  that  in  the  other  colleges  has  in- 
creased only  a  little  over  fifty  per  cent. 

The  time  for  questioning  the  advisability  of  public  support  of  col- 
legiate education  has  passed.     The  public  is  supporting  collegiate 


14  EHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

*  por't'of  wHe-  educatioii.  The  people  show  their  beUef  in  this  principle 
tion.  ^  in  the  very  best  way,  by  liberally  supporting  these  col- 
leges. They  believe  in  it  so  thoroughly  that  they  have  given  these 
colleges,  not  to  mention  state  and  federal  aid  to  other  institutions^ 
an  endowment  in  money  and  property  of  a  thousand  of  millions  of 
dollars,  a  sum  nearly  equal  to  the  combined  value  of  all  taxable 
property  in  the  states  of  Rhode  Island  and  Vermont;  they  are  an- 
nually paying  for  their  support  fourteen  and  a  half  million  dollars. 
Very  little  of  this  money  comes  from  private  bequests,  much  the  larger 
part,  about  eleven  million  dollars,  coming  directly  from  the  people, 
either  through  the  federal  government,  or  through  the  state.  These 
colleges  are,  in  a  very  real  sense,  the  people's  colleges,  founded  by 
the  people,  endowed  and  supported  by  the  people.  They  are  the 
summit  of  our  public  school  system  of  education. 

There  is  another  feature  of  these  institutions  which  is  of  great  sig- 
nificance and  which  makes  them  of  special  value,  namely,  that  here 
Vocational      we  find  side  by  side  the  two  elements  of  all  true  educa- 

and  cultural 

elements.  tiou,  the  vocational  and  cultural.  These  elements  are 
not  only  in  the  same  institution,  but  they  form  an  integral  part  of 
its  structure.  The  definite  attempt  is  made,  while  training  the  yQung 
men  and  women  for  vocational  life,  for  productive  citizenship,  to 
give  them  at  the  same  time  that  broad  cultural  education  which  is 
so  essential  to  enlightened  citizenship,  which  alone  will  enable  them 
to  take  their  proper  place  as  leaders  in  a  democracy.     - 

Place  of  Rhode  Island  College. 

The  place  of  the  Rhode  Island  college  in  this  great  national  move- 
ment is  modest,  but  honorable.  She  is  one  of  the  younger  institu- 
T  f    tions,  and  hence  her  place  is  by  no  means  well  estabhshed, 

in  process  oi  '  i  J 

development,  gj^^  -^  ^^  present  barely  passing  through  the  initial  stage 
of  her  development,  a  stage  through  which  all  the  other  institutions 
have  passed.  The  difficulties  and  trials  of  her  present  life  are  but  the 
growing  pains  which  presage  a  more  rapid  development,  a  broader 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  15 

outlook,  and  a  coming  ability  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  people  of  the 
state  more  completely  than  she  has  done  in  the  past. 

III.     RESULTS  OF  COMMISSION'S  EXAMINATION. 

Purpose  of  Founding. 

The  Rhode  Island  college  owes  its  existence  to  the  Morrill  Act  of 
1862,  and  its  present  purpose  is  in  entire  harmony  with  the  provis- 
ions of  that  act. 

The  college  was  founded  for  the  purpose  of  giving  to  all  people  of 
the  state  an  opportunity  to  secure  free  collegiate  education,  es- 
Free  coiie  i-  pscially  along  the  lines  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts, 
atee  ucation.  ^^  j^^^  been  Stated  elsewhere,  the  purpose  was  not  so 
much  to  make  the  college  a  technical  and  industrial  school,  where 
agriculture  and  mechanic  arts  only  are  taught;  it  was  to  give  to 
young  people  engaged  in  agriculture  and  industrial  pursuits  an  op- 
portunity to  obtain  a  liberal  education.  The  special  reason  why 
these  subjects  were  emphasized  was  that  it  was  thought  that  such 
young  people  could  be  best  reached  in  this  way;  that  such  subjects 
would  most  fully  meet  their  needs  and  would  be  the  best  foundation 
for  a  broader  training.  The  Rhode  Island  college,  then,  was  founded 
for  the  purpose  of  enlarging  the  field  of  opportunity  for  collegiate 
education  and  of  directly  meeting  the  needs  of  the  agricultural  and 
industrial  classes  of  the  state  educationally. 

Development  of  the  College. 

The  early  history  of  the  founding  of  the  college  is  given,  in  con- 
nection with  the  story  of  the  land-grant  fund  of  1862,  on  pages  25-28 
of  this  report. 

The  college  was  founded  in  accordance  with  an  act  of  the  General 
Assembly  passed  on  March  23d,  1888,  which  provided  that  a  sepa- 
rate experiment  station  and  agricultural  school  should 

Founded. 

be  established  at  Kingston.     This  was  called  the  Rhode 
Island  Agricultural  School  and  Experiment  Station.     To  this  school 


16  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

was  given  the  money  received  from  the  Hatch  Act  of  1887,  providing 
for  experiments  in  agriculture,  and  in  addition  the  sum  of  $5,000, 
from  the  state. 

In  1892  the  General  Assembly  passed  an  act  chartering  the  agri- 
cultural school  as  a  college  under  its  present  name,  the  Rhode  Island 
Chartered  as  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts.  (Pubhc  Laws, 
a  college.  January 'Session,  1892,  Chap.  1078.)  The  college  re- 
ceived the  funds  from  the  two  Morrill  Acts  in  1894,  and  after  that 
had  an  income  which  enabled  it  to  develop  more  rapidly. 

Some  idea  of  the  growth  of  the  college  can  be  seen  by  comparing 

conditions  now  with  those  when  it  was  founded  in  1889.     The  college 

was  founded  as  an  agricultural  school.     It  was  incorpo- 

Growth. 

rated  as  a  college  in  1892.  The  courses  of  study  have 
been  on  a  college  basis  since  1892;  the  requirements  for  a  degree 
were  raised  in  1898;  and  the  curriculum  was  again  thoroughly  re- 
vised during  the  years  1906-1907,  and  1907  to  1908.  In  January, 
1890,  there  were  seven  students;  in  January,  1909,  there  were  183. 
The  faculty  in  1890  numbered  five;  in  1909  there  are  in  all  depart- 
ments forty-four,  including  twenty-two  instructors,  thirteen  ex- 
perimenters, three  extension  lecturers  and  demonstrators,  and  six 
assistants  in  administration.  In  the  nineteen  years  of  its  existence, 
June,  1890,  to  June,  1909,  there  will  have  been  a  total  of  155  gradu- 
ates if  the  thirteen  members  of  the  present  senior  class  complete  the 
course. 

Beginning  with  practically  nothing,  the  college  no^f  has  property 

valued  at  S300,000.     It  began  as  an  agricultural  experiment  station 

.     with  a  small  agricultural  school  attached.     It  is  now  an 

Present  posi-  ^ 

^^°^'  institution  of  collegiate  rank,  granting  degrees  and  having 

as  a  department  the  experiment  station.  At  the  beginning  its  pur- 
pose was  not  clearly  defined  nor  its  future  assured.  It  has  already 
made  for  itself  an  honorable  place  among  educational  institutions, 
it  is  gradually  finding  its  place,  its  purpose  is  becoming  clearer,  and 
its  future  seems  assured  if  the  people  of  the  state  will  give  it  the  fi- 
nancial support  it  deserves. 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF   INQUIRY. 


17 


Relation  to  State  and  Nation. 

A  comparison  between  the  amount  of  the  federal  aid  to  the  Rhode 
Island  college  and  the  annual  appropriation  by  the  state  for  current 
Federal  aid,  expeuses  brings  to  light  some  very  significant  facts.  The 
support.  accompanying  table,  compiled  from  data  given  in  the 
reports  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  shows  the  relation  between 
the  federal  aid  and  state  support  for  the  years  1906,  1907,  and  1908. 
For  purposes  of  comparison  there  are  also  given  the  same  data  for 
the  other  five  national  colleges  in  New  England  and  for  thirteen  other 
institutions  similar  to  the  Rhode  Island  college  situated  in  various 
parts  of  the  country  and  representing  the  country  as  a  whole.  They 
represent  some  of  the  institutions  of  the  better  class,  some  of  the 
progressive  wide-awake  colleges  that  are  most  fully  living  up  to  the 
ideal  given  in  the  original  land-grant  act.  They  are  such  institu- 
tions as  the  Rhode  Island  college  might,  under  favorable  conditions, 
develop  into. 

Table  III. 

Amount  Given  by  State  (for  C-drrent  Expenses)  for  every  Dollar  by  the  U.  S. 
Government  (Exclusive  of  Experiment  Station). 


9. 
10. 


Rhode  Island  College  of  Agriculture  and  Me- 
chanic Arts 

University  of  Maine 

Connecticut  Agricultural  College 

Massachusetts  Agricultural  College 

New  Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture  and 
Mechanic  Arts 

University  of  Vermont 

Purdue  University 

Iowa  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic 
Arts 

Kansas  Agricultural  College 

Cornell  University 

3 


1906 

1907 

1908 

$  55 

%   90 

$  77 

1  10 

1  30 

1  80 

63 

63 

73 

1  80 

1  96 

1  40 

44 

44 

37 

26 

26 

23 

3  66 

3  70 

4  00 

2  63 

2  62 

5  70 

1  61 

1  85 

2  30 

1  26 

2  15 

2  80 

1909 


67 


64 
2  58 


18 


RHODE   ISLAND    COLLEGE. 
Table  III. — Concluded. 


1906 


1907 


1908 


1909 


1 1 .  Clemson  Agricultural  College 

12.  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  of  Texas 

13.  Washington  State  College 

14.  University  of  Illinois 

15      University  of  Kentucky 

16.  University  of  Minnesota 

17.  University  of  Nebraska 

18.  Ohio  State  University 

19.  University  of  Wisconsin 

Average  of  65  institutions  in  the  U.  S 


$8  77 
2  21 
2  50 
6  53 

2  28 
5  15 

3  60 
5  77 

15  15 
2  25 


S5  60 
2  10 


16  30 


I,ess  than 
other  states 


For  every  dollar  given  by  the  U.  S.  government  in  aid  of  the  college, 
the  state  gave,  in  1906,  55  cents;  in  1907,  90  cents;  in  1908,  77  cents; 
state  gives       ^^^  i^  1909,  67  cents.     In  other  words,  the  U.  S.  govern- 

less  than  U.  S.  ,   ,  ^       n         •  i  •        •     •  i'        1 1  , 

ment  has  actually  given  and  is  giving  more  tor  the  support 
of  the  college  than  is  given  by  the  state.  Comparing  this  with  the 
New  England  colleges,  we  see  that  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
College  received,  in  1908,  SI. 40  from  the  state  for  every 
dollar  from  the  federal  government;  and  in  1907,  nearly 
$2.00.  The  University  of  Maine  received,  in  1908,  $1.80  from  the 
state.  Turning  our  attention  to  the  other  thirteen  colleges,  we  find 
that  in  1908  the  amount  of  state  support  varied  all  the  way  from 
$1.80  in  the  case  of  the  University  of  Kentucky  to  $16.30  in  the  case 
of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  while  the  average  is  about  $5.60. 
Taking  all  of  the  other  sixty-four  institutions  of  the  country,  in- 
cluding schools  for  colored  students,  we  find,  in  1907,  that  the  state 
support  was  $2.50  for  every  dollar  given  by  the  national  government. 
We  can  also  clearly  see,  from  the  table,  the  general  tendency  of 
colleges  in  regard  to  increase  in  relative  amount  of  state  support. 
Backward  ^i^  Rhode  Islaiid  the  tendency  is,  on  the  whole,  distinctly 
en  ency.  backward,  the  federal  aid  increasing  $5,000  per  year 
and  the  regular  state  appropriation  remaining  stationary.     In  all 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF   INQUIRY.  19 

of  the  fifteen  institutions  the  tendency  is  decidedly  in  the  direction 
of  a  relatively  larger  proportion  being  given  by  the  state.  This  is 
true  of  the  sixty-four  institutions  taken  as  a  whole.  The  figures  for 
the  three  years  1905,  1906,  and  1907  are  $1.85,  $2.25,  and  $2.50.  If 
the  data  for  1908  were  available,  a  still  greater  proportionate  increase 
would  be  seen.  This  tendency  is  very  clearly  set  forth  in  a  letter  sent 
by  the  Hon.  Frank  Pierce,  Acting  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  to  Sena- 
ator  Redfield  Proctor  in  March,  1908.  He  says,  "In  1898,  these 
land-grant  colleges  received  in  the  aggregate  twenty-nine  per  cent. 
of  their  support  from  the  national  government.  Ten  years  later,  in 
1906,  owmg  to  the  increase  of  state  appropriation,  this  proportion 
of  their  support  from  federal  funds  was  reduced  to  15.4  per  cent. 
In  this  ten-3^ear  period,  the  congressional  grant  was  increased  by 
nineteen  per  cent.  In  the  same  time,  the  amount  which  the  institu- 
tions received  from  their  several  states  was  increased  by  about  240 
per  cent."  (Report  of  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  1908,  vol.  1,  pp. 
12  and  13.) 

The  fact  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  that  the  Rhode  Island  college 
^g^a^g  is  a  state  institution.     It  is  the  only  place  where  any 

institution.  /■    ,  i  ,     ,  • ,  i 

young  man  or  3^oung  woman  oi  the  state  can  go  with- 
out cost  and  obtain  a  collegiate  education.  In  view  of  the  facts 
given  in  the  table,  it  seems  clear  that  Rhode  Island  has  not  been 
giving  her  college  adequate  support.  It  may  also  be  said  that  she 
has  not  been  fully  living  up  to  the  spirit  of  her  agreement  with  the 
federal  government.  The  grants  of  money  and  land  were  intended 
as  aids  in  the  establishment  of  the  national  colleges  and  as  stimulants 
to  state  support.  They  were  never  intended  to  be  the  main  source 
of  revenue,  as  they  have  been  in  this  state.  The  national  govern- 
ment has  done  more  than  could  reasonably  have  been  expected. 
Will  the  state  do  her  share,  will  she  idealize  her  opportunity  and  ac- 
cept her  responsibility? 


20  rhode  island  college. 

Buildings  and  Grounds. 

The  Commission  has  made  a  careful  examination  of  the  buildings  of 
the  college  and  of  the  grounds.  We  find  that  the  experiment  station 
E  ui  ment  of  ^®  ^^^^  housed  and  well  cared  for.  The  other  buildings 
other  colleges.  ^£  ^j^^  college  are  inadequate  for  the  present  needs  of 
the  institution.  In  fact,  the  total  valuation  of  all  property,  lands, 
buildings,  and  equipments  of  the  college  compares  very  unfavor- 
ably with  that  of  the  other  national  colleges.  According  to  the 
reports  sent  to  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  in  1907,  there  was  only 
one  national  college  in  the  United  States  that  had  a  lower  valuation 
of  all  property  than  the  Rhode  Island  college,  and  that  was  the 
University  of  Arizona.  The  buildings  have  by  no  means  kept  up  with 
the  growth  of  the  college  in  enrollment  and  in  enlargement  of  courses. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  this  has  been  and  is  a  very  serious 
handicap  to  the  institution.  The  college  can  not  do  its  best  work  in 
cramped  quarters.  The  effect  upon  teachers  and  pupils 
handicap.  ^^  ^^^  wholesome  nor  inspiring.  It  is  depressing  to  an 
instructor  to  feel  that  his  usefulness  is  decreased  and  his  work  below 
the  standard  he  has  set  for  himself  on  account  of  inadequate  equip- 
ment and  insufficient  room.  With  more  adequate  equipment  and 
better  quarters,  instructors  could  greatly  increase  the  value  of  their 
work  and  a  larger  number  of  students  would  be  attracted  to  the  in- 
stitution. 

Practically  none  of  the  present  buildings  are  sufficient  for  the  needs 
of  the  college.  Some  of  them  are  mere  makeshifts,  and  when  built 
were  intended  only  for  temporary  quarters.  For  example, 
the  department  of  botany  still  remains  in  the  temporary 
room  put  up  for  it  thirteen  years  ago.  The  equipment  and  number 
of  students  have  both  far  outgrown  these  quarters.  The  building 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  students  in  the  short  poultry  courses 
is  very  poorly  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  students  and  is  by  no 
means  such  as  to  attract  young  men.  It  seems  remarkable  that  in 
spite  of  these  disadvantages  so  many  desire  to  take  the  course. 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  21 

The  buildings  are  not  only  too  small,  but  many  of  them  are  poorly 
constructed,  and  there  is,  at  times,  a  general  untidy  appearance.  The 
present  management  is  by  no  means  entirely  responsible 
too  small.  £^^  ^j^-g^  Even  though  it  is  granted  that  greater  care 
both  of  the  buildings  and  of  the  grounds  is  desirable  in  such  an  in- 
stitution, it  must  be  remembered  that  poorty  constructed  buildings 
are  not  only  much  harder  to  keep  clean  than  good  buildings,  but 
even  with  the  best  of  care  will  never  look  neat.  The  first  step  toward 
a  neat,  tidy,  business-like  appearance  is  well-built,  well-ventilated, 
and  well-lighted  buildings.  A  poorly  constructed,  badly  ventilated 
and  lighted  school  building  has  a  definite  unwholesome  influence 
upon  janitors,  students  and  instructors.  A  well-built,  roomy,  artistic 
building,  well  lighted  and  ventilated,  has  a  positive  uplifting  influence 
upon  all  who  come  within  its  walls,  and  helps  in  the  formation  of 
habits  of  neatness  and  habits  of  work. 

The  criticism  has  been  made  that  much  of  the  money  given  by  the 
state  for  buildings  has  been  wasted.  The  Commission  grants  that 
A  ro  riation  ^^^  mouey  thus  given  has,  at  times,  been  unwisely  ex- 
insu  cient.  pended,  but  it  is  of  the  opinion  that  this  has  resulted 
often  from  an  attempt  to  build  on  too  little  money.  This  has  not 
been  done  once,  but  many  times.  For  example,  the  college  had  cer- 
tain definite  needs;  the  Board  of  Managers  decided  upon  the  amount 
of  money  necessary  to  construct  a  building  which  would  meet  their 
needs  and  requested  an  appropriation  from  the  General  Assembly; 
for  various  reasons,  the  General  Assembly  cut  this  several  thousands 
of  dollars;  it  was  not  possible  to  build  on  the  original  plan  with  re- 
duced appropriation,  and  since  the  needs  remained  the  same,  the 
management  attempted  to  use  the  appropriation  in  such  a  way  that 
the  needs  of  the  present  would  be  temporarily  met.  Such  policy 
has  resulted  too  often  in  a  series  of  makeshifts  wath  no  definite  at- 
tempt to  meet  future  needs,  a  hand-to-mouth  plan  made  necessary 
by  the  impossibility  of  even  securing  adequate  funds  for  the  present 
necessities.     In  consequence,  one  fails  to  see  in  the  buildings  as  a 


22  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

whole   any  clear  forecast  of  future  needs  and  future   growth,   any 
definite  scheme  for  enlargement,  wisely  thought  out. 

The  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  if  the  college  is  to  grow  and 
to  assume  her  proper  place  in  this  system  of  national  colleges,  more 
A  definite  adequate  provision  must  be  made  by  the  General  As- 
p  an  nee  e  .  ggnibly  for  Suitable  buildings,  and  a  definite  plan  out- 
lined for  future  development  so  that  each  year  may  see  some  addi- 
tions made  which  will  not  be  mere  makeshifts  but  which  will  be  of  a> 
permanent  character  and  which  will  meet  the  needs  of  the  college' 
for  years  to  come.  The  management  of  the  college  has  a  definite 
plan  for  growth,  and  only  need  adequate  funds  for  their  realization. 

Equipment, 

The  college  has,  on  the  whole,  much  better  facilities  in  apparatus^ 
and  other  equipment  than  in  buildings.  In  most  departments  it  is 
possible  to  build  up  a  fairly  adequate  equipment  gradually,  by  ex- 
pending small  sums  of  money  each  year,  while  it  is  not  possible  tO' 
do  this  in  regard  to  buildings. 

In  some  departments  the  equipment,  while  still  insufficient,  has- 
outgrown  the  rooms  in  which  it  is  to  be  used.  In  consequence,  it  is- 
Quarters  for  ^°*  possible  to  care  for  it  properly.  As  always  happens, 
apparatus.  -^j-^en  there  is  no  regular  place  provided,  no  conveniences 
for  proper  storage,  the  apparatus  soon  deteriorates  and  constant 
waste  results.  It  is  poor  economy  not  to  provide  proper  housing  for 
valuable  equipment.  There  should  be  proper  conveniences  for  stor- 
ing farm  machinery  of  all  kinds  so  that  it  would  not  be  necessary  to 
expose  it  to  the  weather.  Every  building  should  have  places  where 
the  apparatus  could  be  conveniently  and  safely  kept.  The  remedy  for 
this  is  not  less  apparatus  but  more  room.  The  library,  also,  is  in 
very  cramped  and  unsuitable  quarters.  The  room  is  so  small  and 
crowded  that  books  are  not  easily  accessible,  and  there  are  few  con- 
veniences for  study;  nor  is  it  possible  to  take  proper  care  of  books 
and  pamphlets  under  such  circumstances. 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  23 

The  equipment  is  by  no  means  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  the  college 
as  it  now  stands,  and  entirely  inadequate  for  any  growth  along  the 
Equipment  ^^^^^  planned  by  the  college  and  suggested  in  this  report, 
inadequate.  While  this  applies  ill  general  to  nearly  all  departments 
of  the  college,  there  are  some  in  which  the  equipment  seems  es- 
pecially inadequate  when  one  considers  the  real  purpose  of  the  college. 

The  foundations  of  scientific  farming  are  physics  and  chemistry, 
and  these  subjects  should  be  studied  as  deeply  as  time  will  permit. 
Physics  and  Money  should  be  expended  with  a  liberal  hand  to  equip 
c  emistry.  laboratories  and  workrooms.  The  deepest  wisdom  and 
the  greatest  skill  that  can  be  brought  to  bear  on  any  subject  may 
most  worthily  be  expended  in  conserving  natural  resources  and 
•development  of  the  products  of  the  soil.  Accordingly,  the  depart- 
ments of  physics  and  chemistry  should  be  well  housed  and  supplied 
with  adequate  apparatus. 

Into  every  agricultural  course  should  enter  some  mechanical  train- 
ing. Modern  scientific  farming  demands  the  use  of  much  machinery, 
Engineering  ^^^  ^^^^  progressive  farmer  is  greatly  aided  by  a  working 
courses  knowledge  of  mechanics;  but  the  terms  of  the  bill  author- 

izing the  establishment  of  the  national  colleges  go  far  beyond  this 
and  demand  engineering  courses  of  college  grade.  In  accepting  the 
federal  fund,  the  state  virtually  pledges  itself  to  support  high  grade 
engineering  courses,  and  must  provide  proper  conditions  for  such  in- 
struction. 

While  the  Commission  appreciates  the  value  of  the  present  equip- 
ment and  realizes  that  it  compares  favorably  with  other  institutions, 
Equipment  ^*  fiuds  that  the  cheiiiical  laboratory  and  the  mechanical 
and  electrical  laboratories  are  still  inferior  in  housing 
and  equipment  to  what  is  demanded  of  a  high  grade  institution. 

Instruction. 

The  instruction  is  on  the  whole  good,  and  measures  well  up  to  that 
found  in  other  institutions  of  like  grade.     The  college  has  been  handi- 


24  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

capped  by  lack  of  funds,  and,  in  consequence,  has  not 

Salaries. 

always  been  able  to  pay  such  salaries  as  would  attract 
and  hold  instructors  of  first  rank.  The  average  salary  of  all  in- 
structors in  the  college  is  only  $1,369.  There  are  only  three,  in- 
cluding the  president,  who  receive  a  salary  of  $2,000  or  over,  and  only 
seven,  less  than  one  third,  who  receive  $1,600  or  over.  There  are 
ten  who  receive  $1,000  or  less.  The  result  has  been  that  there  has 
not  been  so  much  continuity  of  service  as  is  desirable.  The  policy 
has  been  to  secure  the  services  of  young  men,  recently  graduated,. 
who  are  as  yet  untried.  Very  frequently  they  become  excellent  in- 
structors, but  they  sometimes  do  not.  It  frequently  happens  that 
as  soon  as  an  instructor  has  shown  himself  capable  of  excellent  work,, 
he  receives  an  offer  of  a  much  better  salary  elsewhere  and  accepts. 

The  college  inevitably  suffers  in  several  ways  from  this  policy.     In 

the  first  place,  no  one  can  do  his  best  work  in  the  first  year  or  two  of 

his  experience.     No  matter  how  great  his  enthusiasm,  it 

Terms  of  ■'^  °  ' 

service.  ^^/^^l  take  a  few  years  for  him  to  adjust  himself  to  the  de- 

mands of  his  new  life.  In  the  second  place,  the  college  lacks  con- 
tinuity in  its  work.  No  department  can  have  a  consistent  growth  if 
the  head  changes  every  few  years.  Continuous  service  is  absolutelj^ 
necessary  to  secure  a  strong  department,  one  that  will  stand  for 
something,  which  will  command  the  respect  of  the  people  of  the- 
state  and  of  other  states. 

The  Commission  is  unanimous  in  its  belief  that  nothing  determines 

the  character  of  an  institution  so  much  as  the  personnel  of  its  faculty. 

,  Buildings  and  equipment  are  important,  but  no  institu- 

Importance  of  ° 

faculty.  ^^Q-^  g^j^  succeed  without  a  strong  corps  of  teachers.     It 

is  the  opinion  of  the  Commission  that  there  is  nothing  which  would 
enhance  the  value  of  the  college,  widen  its  influence  and  increase 
its  usefulness,  so  much  as  to  make  provision  for  the  payment  of  more 
adequate  salaries.  The  college  would  then  be  in  a  position  to  keep 
those  who  had  proven  their  worth  and  to  attract  men  of  wide  reputa- 
tion, specialists  in  their  lines,  who  would  bring  added  prestige  to  the 
college  and  who  would  also  attract  around  them  students  of  excep- 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  25 

tional  ability.  A  department,  then,  would  stand  for  something  def- 
inite and  would  represent  a  settled  policy.  With  a  strong  body  of 
thoroughly  competent  men  and  women,  whose  salaries  were  suflB.- 
cient  to  enable  them  to  remain  indefinitely,  the  success  of  the  college 
would  be  assured. 

• 

Finances. 

The  first  source  of  income  of  the  college,  in  point  of  time,  was  that 
received  from  the  sale  of  the  land  granted  by  the  national  govern- 
ment under  the  Morrill  Act  of  1862.  In  some  states  this  fund  is  large 
enough  to  assure  a  steady  annual  income  which  aids  materially  in 
the  support  of  such  an  institution,  but  in  others  the  land  was  sold 
for  a  mere  trifle  and  the  endowment  practically  thrown  away.  It  is 
a  cause  for  deep  regret  that  Rhode  Island  has  such  a  pitiably  small 
return,  only  $2,500  annually,  from  the  fund  obtained  from  this  land- 
grant.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Rhode  Island  college  had 
absolutely  nothing  to  do  with  this,  not  being  founded  until  twenty- 
five  years  after  the  land  was  sold.  In  order  that  there  may  be  no 
misunderstanding  regarding  the  facts,  a  brief  history  of  the  land- 
grant  fund  will  be  given  from  the  beginning,  in  1862,  up  to  the  time 
M^hen  it  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  trustees  of  the  present  college 
in  1894. 

Story  of  the  Land-Grant  Fund  in  Rhode  Island. 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Morrill  Act,  Rhode  Island,  ha^ang 
at  that  time  two  senators  and  two  representatives,  received  120,000  acres  of 
land,  or  more  accurately,  since  there  was  not  that  amoimt  of  government  land 
in  Rhode  Island,  land  scrip  to  the  value  of  120,000  acres.  This  could  be  located 
by  the  assignees  of  the  state  in  any  state  of  the  Union  where  government  land 
could  be  found  valued  at  $1.25  per  acre.  * 

The  General  Assembly  of  1863  passed  a  resolution  expressing  its  acceptance 
of  the  land  scrip  from  the  United  States  authorities,  "upon  the  terms  and  con- 
Land  grant  ditions  of  said  act  contained  and  set  forth ;  and  that  the  faith  of  the 
accepted  by 

the  state.  state  be  and  hereby  is  pledged  to  the  United  States  that,  upon  re- 
ceipt of  the  scrip  provided  to  be  issued  under  the  said  act  of  Congress,  it  will 

4 


26  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

faithfully  apply  the  proceeds  thereof  to  the  objects  and  in  the  manner  prescribed 
by  this  act."  (Acts  and  Resolves,  January  session,  1863.  Public  resolution 
No.  2.)  The  state  accordingly  assumed  all  obligations  imposed  by  the  act, 
namely,  to  locate  and  sell  the  land  at  their  own  expense  and  to  keep  the  sum 
obtained  from  it  as  a  perpetual  fund,  the  interest  on  which  should  be  used  for 
the  support  of  the  college  founded  on  the  lines  prescribed  by  the  act 

In  January,  1863,  the  General  Assembly  authorized  the  Government  to  trans- 
fer the  120,000  acres  of  land  scrip  to  Brown  University.  According  to  the  agree- 
Brown  Uni-     ment  entered  into,  the  corporation  of  Brown  University  should  dis- 

versity  the 

beneficiary.  pose  of  the  scrip  at  their  own  expense  and  pay  all  taxes  on  the  scrip 
land.  They  were  to  guarantee  the  integrity  of  the  fund  and  an  interest  of  at  least 
five  per  cent.  The  entire  income  from  the  fund  should  be  used  for  the  education 
of  scholars  at  $100  per  year  (later  changed  to  $75  per  year),  who  were  to  be  nomi- 
nated by  the  Governor  and  Secretary  of  State  in  conference  with  the  President 
of  Brown  University. 

The  corporation  of  Brown  University,  through  its  special  agent.  Rev.  Horace 
T.  Love,  immediately  began  to  locate  the  lands.     The  Morrill  Act  provided  that 

Lands  no  lands  should  be  located  until  after  July  2nd,  1863,  but,  fearing  that 

partially  i  i  • 

located.  all  the  desirable  locations  would  be  taken,  it  was  thought  wise  to  be- 

gin a  provisional  location  at  once.  Some  40,000  acres  of  land  were  thus  pro- 
visionally located  in  Kansas.  The  proper  papers  were  filed,  all  fees  paid,  and 
a  receipt  was  obtained  from  the  receiver  for  $1,000^  the  scrip  to  be  given  as  soon 
as  obtained.  In  spite  of  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Love  and  President  Sears,  the  Gov- 
ernment would  not  give  the  scrip  until  Aug.  7th,  1863.  On  Aug.  13th,  1863,  the 
General  Land  Office  rendered  a  decision  to  the  effect  that,  since  the  transaction 
was  not  accompanied  by  the  scrip,  it  was  illegal  and  void,  and  the  lands  were  de- 
clared open.  To  further  complicate  matters,  a  part  of  the  land  thus  provisionally 
located  was  claimed  by  a  railroad  company,  some  5,000  acres  by  the  State  of 
Kansas  as  a  part  of  its  own  school  lands,  and  still  another  part  had  been  placed 
open  to  settlers  and  many  had  filed  their  claims  on  it. 

Brown  University  had  already  expended  $4,000  on  the  location  of  the  lands, 
and  could  see  no  immediate  solution  of  the  difficulties.  At  best,  it  would  take 
Committee  ^  number  of  years  and  considerable  money  before  the  lands  could 
to  dispole^of  ^^  recovered.  There  was  also  considerable  unrest  due  to  the  up- 
'^"'^'  rising  of  the  Indians,  which,  while  not  in  immediate  proximity  to 

their  lands,  nevertheless  contributed  to  the  difficulty  of  locating  the  lands.  Per- 
haps more  important  still  was  the  internal  opposition  on  the  part  of  some  in- 
fluential members  of  the  Executive  Board,  who  were  opposed  to  the  general  plan 
of  the  assumption  by  the  University  of  the  obligations  of  the  land  scrip,  and 
who  also  were  personally  opposed  to  Mr.  Love.     It  is  also  stated  that  the  corpora- 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  27 

'  tion  felt  a  very  great  pressure  to  realize  immediately  on  this  land  scrip  so  that 
the  interest  could  be  used  at  once.  Taking  all  these  things  into  consideration, 
the  committee  was  authorized  to  dispose  of  the  land  and  scrip  as  soon  as  possible. 
Accordingly,  in  May,  1864,  Mr.  Love  was  recalled  and  his  salary  discontinued. 

Mr.  Love  was  still  very  sanguine  that  the  lands  could  be  saved.  The  committee 
then  asked  Mr.  Love  how  much  he,  personally,  would  give  for  the  land  and  the 
Land  and  land  scrip.     He  offered  $50,000,  which  was  immediately  accepted 

scrip  sold.  j^y  ^^le  committee.  The  terms  given  Mr.  Love  were  most  liberal. 
The  note  was  without  interest,  and  five  and  one-half  years'  credit  was  given.  The 
money  was  to  be  paid  in  five  installments,  as  follows:  Aug.  20th,  1866,  $1,000; 
Aug.  20th,  1867,  $4,000;  Aug.  20th,  1868,  $5,000;  Aug.  20th,  1869,  $10,000; 
Aug.  20th,  1870,  $30,000.  It  is  to  be  noted  that,  at  the  time,  the  committee  was 
unanimous  in  favor  of  this  disposal  of  the  scrip,  and  the  corporation  formally 
approved,  evidently  thinking  it  a  good  way  out  of  the  difficulty. 

Thus  Rhode  Island  received,  in  1870,  a  total  of  $50,000  from  the  120,000  acres 
of  land  scrip,  or  41|-  cents  per  acre.  This  price  maybe  compared  with  the  average 
Low  price.  price  per  acre  which  the  land  scrip  in  other  New  England  states 
brought:  Connecticut,  75  cents;  Maine,  56f  cents;  Massachusetts,  60f  cents; 
New  Hampshire,  53|^  cents;  Vermont,  90J  cents.  New  York  disposed  of  her 
land  scrip  at  $1.00  per  acre,  and  California  of  hers  at  nearly  $5.00  per  acre.  In 
the  general  investigation  made  in  1869  and  1870,  it  was  found  that,  at  the  time 
of  the  sale  to  Mr.  Love,  the  companies  buying  land  scrip  were  paying  from  55  cents 
to  65  cents  per  acre  for  it,  showing  that  the  land  was  sold  for  at  least  14  cents  per 
acre  less  than  the  market  price.  At  the  rate  of  55  cents  per  acre,  the  80,000  acres 
of  land  scrip  would  have  yielded  $44,000,  and  still  the  40,000  acres  of  located  land 
have  remained  untouched  Just  why  it  was  sold  for  so  little  is  not  definitely 
known,  but,  whatever  the  cause,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  com- 
mittee acted  in  perfect  good  faith.  It  was  probably  due  to  ignorance  of  the  mar- 
ket value  of  the  land  scrip.  The  money  received  from  the  sale  of  the  land  and 
the  land  scrip  was  invested  in  U.  S.  bonds  and  its  income  used  according  to  the 
agreement. 

About  1869,  considerable  dissatisfaction  was  voiced  in  regard  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  provisions  of  the  act  were  being  disregarded  by  Brown  University. 
Agricultural  ^°  agricultural  department  worthy  of  the  name  had  been  estab- 
at^Browif'^*^  lished,  and  what  little  work  was  given  was  entirely  subordinate  to 
University.  ^^^  other  college  work.  The  terms  of  the  agreement  had  proven 
to  be  particularly  burdensome  to  Brown  University.  Not  a  cent  of  the  income 
from  the  fund  could  be  used  by  the  university  for  equipment  or  for  instruction . 
the  entire  expense  of  additional  facilities  devolving  upon  the  u  niversity.     It  was 


28  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

practically  only  a  scholarship  fund  for  the  benefit  of  certain  favored  students, 
and  hardly  covered  the  expense  of  their  instruction. 

When  the  Hatch  Act  of  1887  was  passed,,  providing  $15,000  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  experiment  station,  the  General  Assembly  appointed  a  joinf  special 
Agricultural  committee  to  investigate  the  disposal  of  the  land-grant  fund  and  to 
ExDeriment  determine  what  action  should  be  taken  with  respect  to  the  national 
establShed  offer  for  the  experiment  station.  This  committee  reported  in  favor 
at  Kingston,  ^j  ^  separate  experiment  station  and  agricultural  school,  to  be 
located  at  Kingston.  An  act  in  accordance  with  this  was  passed  March  23rd, 
1868. 

The  board  of  managers  of  the  school,  in  its  first  report,  urged  the  transference 

of  the  fund  received  from  the  land-grant  to  the  school  at  Kingston,  and  the 

Disposal  of       corporation  of  Brown  University,  finding  the  provisions  burden- 

the  national 

fund.  some,  voted  on  September  3d,  1890,  to  pay  back  the  fund  into 

the  state  treasury  However,  on  August  30,  1890,  the  second  Morrill  Act 
passed,  which  provided  for  an  addition  to  the  land-grant  fund  of  $15,000 
annually,  and  an  increase  of  $1,000  each  year  until  the  fund  reached 
$25,000.  The  agricultural  school  at  Kingston  claimed  this  money,  but  a  de- 
cision of  the  State  Supreme  Court  declared  that  this  fund  could  not  be  sepa- 
rated from  the  fund  of  1862,  and  that,  since  the  agricultural  school  did  not  claim 
to  be  a  college.  Brown  University  was  the  only  institution  in  the  state  which 
was  entitled  to  receive  the  money  Brown  University,  accordingly,  withdrew 
the  offer  to  return  the  fund  to  the  state  and  appointed  a  committee  to  confer 
with  the  state  relative  to  the  disposal  of  the  fund.  Long  negotiations  with  the 
commission  from  the  General  Assembly  brought  no  results 

On  May  19th,  1892,  the  General  Assembly  passed  an  act  chartering  the  agri- 
cultural school  as  a  college,  ordering  all  moneys  from  the  fund  of  1890  paid  to  the 

Agreement  college   at   Kingston.      The  state  treasurer  was   enjoined   by  the 

between  the 

state  and  corporation  of  Brown  University  from  paying  the  sums  over  to  the 

Brown  /-i  /^ 

University.  college,  and  after  a  decision  of  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  in  favor  of 

the  agricultural  college,  the  matter  went  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States.  While  it  was  pending  there,  an  agreement  was  reached,  in  1894,  between 
Brown  University  and  the  state,  and,  in  consequence,  the  suit  before  the  U.  S.  Court 
was  withdrawn.  By  this  agreement,  or  contract.  Brown  University,  in  consid- 
eration of  the  sum  of  $40,000  paid  to  its  treasurer  by  the  state,  returned  to  the 
state  the  fund  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  land  scrip,  amounting  to  $50,000,  and 
released  all  claims  upon  the  money  already  received  from  the  government  and 
upon  any  which  should  be  received  in  the  future.  Thus,  in  1894,  the  original 
fund  of  $50,000  was  placed  in  possession  of  the  state,  the  interest  on  which  should 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  29 

be  used  in  support  of  the  college  at  Kingston,  and  with  the  $25,000  coming 
annually  from  the  national  government  in  accordance  with  the  provision  of  the 
second  Morrill  Act  of  1890. 

Resources  of  the  College. 

The  resources  of  the  college  are  as  follows : 

1.  The  mterest  on  $50,000,  which  was  the  net  amount  received  by 
the  state  from  the  sale  of  its  scrip  for  120,000  acres  of  land,  granted 
by  the  general  government  in  1862.     This  yields  $2,500  per  annum. 

2.  The  annual  appropriation  of  $15,000  from  the  general  govern- 
ment, under  what  is  known  as  the  Hatch  Act  of  1887.  This  fund  is 
exclusively  for  experimental  purposes. 

3.  The  annual  appropriation  of  $25,000  from  the  general  govern- 
ment, under  the  second  Morrill  Act  of  1890.  This  fund  is  for  teaching 
the  subjects  distinctly  named  and  specified  in  the  act,  as  follows: 
"to  be  applied  only  to  instruction  in  agriculture,  the  mechanic  arts, 
the  English  language,  and  the  various  branches  of  mathematical, 
physical,  natural  and  economic  sciences,  with  special  reference  to 
their  applications  in  the  industries  of  life,  and  to  the  facility  for  such 
instruction." 

4.  The  funds  coming  from  the  general  government  to  the  state 
under  the  Adams  Act  of  1906,  yielding  $7,000  for  1906,  and  increasing 
each  year  by  $2,000  until  the  whole  shall  amount,  in  1910,  to  $15,000. 
This  fund  is  exclusively  for  experimental  purposes. 

5.  The  funds  from  the  general  government  under  the  Nelson 
Amendment  of  1907,  amounting  on  July  1st,  1907,  to  $5,000,  and  in- 
creasing yearly  thereafter  by  $5,000  until  the  whole,  in  1911,  will 
amount  to  $25,000.  This  amendment  is  simply  an  extension  of  the 
Morrill  Act  of  1890,  and  carries  the  same  restrictions. 

6.  The  annual  maintenance  fund  from  the  state,  of  $25,000,  used 
for  all  the  purposes  for  which  the  fund  of  the  general  government 
cannot  be  used,  e.  g. :  for  extension  work;  for  executive  and  adminis- 
trative work;    for  heating,  lighting,  and  maintenance  of  buildings; 


30  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

for  the  teaching  of  modern  languages  other  than  English,  of  history 
and  civics;  for  student  labor,  maintenance  of  grounds,  roads^  etc. 
There  were,  then,  during  the  year  1908-1909,  the  following  sums 
available:     For  general  expenses,  from  the  state,  $25,000, 

Income  for  ^  -^ 

1908-1909.  £^,Qj^  ^i^g  national  government,  $2,500,  or  a  total  of  $27,- 
500;  for  instruction,  $35,000  from  the  national  government;  for  ex- 
perimental purposes,  $24,000  from  the  national  government.  This 
makes  a  total  for  the  year  of  $86,500.  Deducting  the  $24,000  which 
can  be  used  only  for  experimental  purposes,  there  remains  $62,500 
which  can  be  used  for  instruction  and  general  maintenance  of  the 
other  departments  of  the  college.  With  less  money  the  college  would 
be  seriously  crippled  and  would  be  unable  to  do  efficient  work. 

After  an  examination  of  the  books  of  the  college,  the  Commission 
is  of  the  opinion  that,  while  the  regulations  of  the  government 
regarding  the  distribution  of  the  funds  between  experiment  station 
and  college  may  be  taken  a  little  too  strictly,  on  the  whole,  the  money 
has  been  wisely  and  economically  spent  for  the  legitimate  expense  of 
the  college.  It  might  be  possible  to  save  expense  in  some  cases  by 
avoiding  duplication  of  material  between  college  and  experiment 
station. 

The  Experiment  Station. 

The  experiment  station  is  well  housed  and  well  kept.  It  has 
thoroughly  competent  men  conducting  the  investigations.  There  is 
no  question  but  that  it  has  rendered  invaluable  aid  to  the  agri- 
cultural interests  of  the  state.  Some  of  the  lines  of  service  are  out- 
lined in  a  later  section.  In  certain  lines,  notably  the  investigation 
of  the  ''black-head,"  it  has  done  more  than  any  other  station,  and  it 
might  not  be  too  much  to  say  than  all  other  experiment  stations,  in 
the  United  States.  It  has  taken  the  first  step  by  isolating  the 
organism  causing  the  disease.  So  far  little  that  is  positive  has  been 
learned  concerning  adequate  preventive  measures. 

While  the  Commission  thoroughly  commends  the  work  of  the 
experiment  station,  it  is  of  the  qpinion  that  much  good  would  come 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  31 

from  a  closer  union  between  this  department  and  the  other  depart- 
ments of  the  college.  The  Commission  feels  that  such  a  union  would 
greatly  benefit  the  institution  as  a  w^hole  and  not  detract  from  the 
value  of  the  investigations. 

IV.     PUBLIC  CRITICISMS  CONSIDERED. 

Is  THE  College  Needed? 

It  has  been  charged  that  other  agencies  are  doing  the  same  work 
as  the  Rhode  Island  college,  and  hence  there  is  no  place  for  it  and  no 
need  for  its  existence. 

In  the  first  place  it  may  be  noted  that  the  question  of  the  existence 
of  the  college  is  not  under  consideration.  The  state,  in  1863,  en- 
state  pledge     tered  into  solemn  compact  with  the  U.  S.  government  that 

to  support 

college.  such  a  college  should  be  maintained.     (See  p.  25.)     This 

responsibility  the  State  of  Rhode  Island  voluntarily  took  upon  herself. 
In  consequence  of  the  formal  agreement,  the  federal  government 
has  given  to  the  State  of  Rhode  Island  120,000  acres  of  land  or  land 
scrip,  and  in  addition  has  virtually  given  it  an  endowment  of  a 
million  and  a  half  dollars  on  which  it  guarantees  an  interest  of  four 
per  cent,  per  annum.  Since  the  foundation  of  the  college,  the  gov- 
ernment has  given  in  money  over  $800,000  to  the  state  for  the 
specific  purpose  of  maintaining  such  a  college.  As  showing  its  good 
faith,  the  state  also  has  given  over  half  a  million  dollars  for  the 
same  purpose.  The  state,  then,  is  under  obligation  to  maintain  and 
support  the  Rhode  Island  college,  and  has  from  the  first  recognized 
the  obligation.  If  the  college  were  not  established,  there  is  reason 
for  believing  that  a  large  number  of  our  people  would  not  rest  until, 
in  response  to  national  effort,  such  an  institution  were  established. 
Without  it  Rhode  Island,  contrary  to  her  historical  progressiveness^ 
would  be  behind  other  states  in  educational  advantages. 

In  the  second  place,  it  may  confidently  be  said  that  no   other 
educational  agency  is  doing,  or  can  do,  the  work  of  the  Rhode  Island 


32  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

Work  not  done  college.      It  is  not  a  question  of  duplication  of  work. 

by  other 

agencies.  There  is  ample  room  in  Rhode  Island  for  all  existing 
educational  agencies.  We  need,  not  less  opportunities,  but  more. 
The  state  is  by  no  means  doing  her  share  in  offering  within  her 
borders  opportunities  for  higher  education.  A  glance  at  the  table 
given  will  show  that  in  proportionate  number  of  students  attending 
institutions  for  higher  education  in  the  state  she  is  below  the  average 
of  the  whole  United  States  and  much  below  all  the  other  New  Eng- 
land states.  Were  she  doing  as  well  as  the  average  of  the  New  Eng- 
land states,  she  would  be  educating  about  1,500  instead  of  about 
1,000. 

Table  IV. 

Proportion  of  students  in  higher  education  per  1,000  inhabitants: 

1905.  1906.  1907. 

Entire  United  States 3.21  3.33  3.31 

Massachusetts 5.37  5.54  5.57 

Rhode  Island 2.79  2.60  2.77 

Connecticut 4.56  4.59  3.86 

Maine 3.36  3.11  3.50 

Vermont 2.91  3.03  3.08 

New  Hampshire 2.92  3.11  3.42 

Rank  of  Rhode  Island  in  United  States 28  30  29 

Statistics  also  show  that  in  proportion  to  her  population  and 
wealth  Rhode  Island  has  fewer  young  people  attending  institutions 
for  higher  education  than  any  other  New  England  state.  There 
need  be  no  fear,  then,  that  the  Rhode  Island  college  is  duplicating 
any  work  done  elsewhere  in  the  state,  but  has  a  distinct  place  in  our 
educational  system.     It  needs  to  be  enlarged  rather  than  restricted. 

Cost  per  Capita. 

The  criticism  has  been  made  that  the  cost  per  pupil  in  the  college 
is  out  of  proportion  to  the  value  of  the  school  and  that  it  is  much 


KEPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF   INQUIRY,  33 

higher  than  in  other  institutions  of  the  same  character.  Compara- 
Comparative  tive  statistics  on  this  point  may  be  very  misleading,  and 
unsatisfactory,  are  unsatisfactory.  In  order  to  compare  the  cost  per 
capita  in  two  institutions,  we  must  first  be  sure  that  the  items  of  ex- 
penditures taken  as  a  basis  are  similar.  This  is  almost  never  the  case. 
Some  institutions  have  dormitories  and  boarding  halls  under^the 
management  of  the  institution,  and  items  of  board  and  room  are 
reckoned  in  as  a  part  of  the  expenses.  This  is  the  case  in  the  Rhode 
Island  college.  In  some  institutions  there  are  no  dormitories  or 
boarding  halls,  and  where  there  are,  the  expenses  for  these  are  often 
carefully  excluded  in  making  estimates  of  cost  per  capita.  In  the 
second  place,  we  must  reduce  the  total  enrollment  to  the  same  basis. 
It  is  not  fair  to  count  students  taking  short  courses  in  the  summer 
school  as  equivalent  to  students  in  the  regular  courses  during  the 
year.  Yet  this  is  continually  done,  and  in  many  cases  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  separate  out  those  students  who  are  enrolled  in  the  sum- 
mer school  only.  The  students  in  professional  courses,  also,  should 
not  be  counted  in  comparison  with  institutions  not  offering  such 
courses. 

It  seems,  therefore,  more  just  and  fair  to  take,  as  a  basis  for  com- 
parison, the  total  enrollment  in  each  institution,  excluding,  as  far  as 
Basis  of  ^^  ^^^'  ^^®  professional  students  and  those  in  summer 

comparison,  ggiiools  ouly;  aucl  to  take,  not  the  total  expenses  or  the 
total  income,  but  the  income  from  the  state  for  current  expenses 
and  that  from  the  United  States  government,  exclusive  of  that  for 
the  experiment  stations.  This  does  not,  of  course,  represent  the 
total  cost,  but  it  seems  to  be  the  only  basis  for  a  fair  comparison 
with  other  institutions. 

Nor  is  this  at  all  fair  to  the  Rhode  Island  college,  for  all  the  other 
national  colleges  of  New  England  have  other  endowments  which' 
„     ,,  bring  in  a  substantial  income  in  addition  to  regular  state 

No  other  °  ° 

endo^.-ment.  ^^^^  government  support.  The  Rhode  Island  college 
depends  entirely  upon  the  state  and  the  federal  government.     The 


34 


RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 


following  data  will  give,  for  1907,  the  necessary  information  regard- 
ing the  endowment  funds  of  the  other  New  England  colleges: 

Table  V. 
Endowment  Funds  not  Received  from  State  or  Nation. 

Connecticut  Agricultural  College $61,000 

University  of  Maine 100,000 

Massachusetts  Agricultural  College 142,000 

Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology 1,857,448 

New  Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts 70,000 

University  of  Vermont 563,691 

Rhode  Island  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts 0 

The  following  table  presents,  for  the  years  1907,  1908,  and  1909, 
the  cost  per  pupil  reckoned  first,  on  the  state  support  for  current 
expenses;  second,  on  the  federal  aid;  and  third,  on  the  combined 
income  from  the  state  for  current  expenses  and  from  the  national 
government.  With  the  data  for  the  Rhode  Island  college  are  given, 
as  far  as  available,  the  data  for  other  schools  of  the  same  character  in 
New  England. .  It  has  been  impossible  to  separate  out  the  summer 
school  students  for  1907,  and  the  figures  for  that  year  represent  the 
per  capita  cost  on  the  total  enrollment  exclusive  of  professional 
students.  The  data  upon  which  this  table  is  based  are  taken  from 
the  report  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  for  the  year  1907,  and 
for  the  years  1908  and  1909  from  information  furnished  by  the  col- 
lege authorities  in  response  to  a  personal  request. 

Table   VI. 
Cost  Per  Capita. 


Rhode  Island  College  of  Agriculture  and  Me 
chanic  Arts 

Connecticut  Agricultural  College 

Massachusetts  Agricultural  College 

New  Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture  and  Me 
chanic  Arts 

University  of  Maine 

University  of  Vermont 


1907 


S176 
161 
172 

63 
69 

22 


256 
89 

143 
53 

84 


417 
261 

205 
122 
106 


1908 


$163 
164 
159 


105 
22 


$212 

224 

97 

178 
62 
93 


1909 


$375 
388 
256 


244 
163 
115 


il37 
191 
223 


yzwo 

217 

89 


$342 
408 
312 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  35 

A  careful  study  of  this  table  will  show  several  significant  things. 
Taking  first  the  cost  per  capita  on  the  state  income,  we  find  that,  in 
Comparison      1907,  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College  shows  about  the 

with  other 

colleges.  same  cost  as  the  Rhode  Island  college;  in  1908  and  1909 

the  Connecticut  Agricultural  college  shows  a  greater  per  capita  cost 
and  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  college  about  the  same.  In  fact, 
the  only  college  similar  to  the  Rhode  Island  college  which  has,  at 
present,  a  less  per  capita  cost  based  on  state  support  is  the  New 
Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts,  and  this  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  all  the  others  have  additional  endowment.  It 
will  be  seen,  also,  that  the  per  capita  cost  on  state  support  in  the 
Rhode  Island  college  is  constantly  decreasing. 

Taking  next  the  total  per  capita  cost,  based  on  the  combined 
income  from  the  state  and  the  government,  we  find  that  the  cost  in 
Cost  on  total  ^^®  Connecticut  Agricultural  college  is  greater  for  all 
income.  three  years  than  that  in  the  Rhode  Island  college.     We 

see,  again,  that  for  the  three  years  the  total  per  capita  cost  also  is 
decreasing  in  the  Rhode  Island  college,  while  distinctly  increasing 
in  all  the  other  colleges. 

Another  significant  thing  shown  in  the  table  is  that  the  per  capita 
cost  in  institutions  of  liberal  arts  is  much  lower  than  in  institutions 
Cost  of  ^°^  maintaining  such   courses.     This  is  inevitable.     It 

courses.  ^^   Universally   recognized   that   scientific   and   technical 

education  costs  more  than  education  in  liberal  arts.  Any  compari- 
son with  such  institutions  as  the  University  of  Maine  and  the  Uni- 
versity of  Vermont  is  misleading  unless  this  is  taken  into  account. 

In  view  of  the  decreasing  per  capita  cost  in  the  Rhode  Island  col- 
lege, and  considering  the  cost  in  other  institutions,  the  Commission 
Temporary  ^^  *^^  *^^  opinlou  that  the  present  somewhat  high  cost  is 
merely  temporary  and  incidental  to  the  early  stages  of 
growth  in  any  institution.  As  the  enrollment  increases  the  per 
capita  cost  will  decrease.  If  the  present  rate  of  increase  in  number 
of  students  continues,  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  high  cost  per  capita 
will  entirely  disappear. 


36  rhode  island  college. 

''College  Isolated." 

It  has  been  said  that  the  college  is  too  far  away  from  the  center 

of  population.     It  is  true  that,  had  we  been  appointed  to  select  a 

location  for  the  college,  we  would  probably  have  placed 

College  not  ^    ' 

inaccessible.  ^^  ^^  ^  troUey  line  running  out  from  Providence.  There 
are,  however,  advantages  in  the  present  location  that  are  often  over- 
looked, and  the  disadvantages  are  greatly  magnified  in  the  minds  of 
many.  Kingston  is  in  time  not  much  further  from  Providence 
than  is  Chicago  University  from  the  Auditorium  Hotel  in  the  same 
city.  There  are  students  who  live  in  Providence  and  attend  all  the 
exercises  of  the  college  daily.  Business  men  have  their  year-round 
homes  in  South  Kingstown,  and  carry  on  their  daily  business  in  Provi- 
dence. From  seventeen  to  twenty-one  trains  stop  daily  at  the  sta- 
tion, and  the  usual  time  of  passage  between  Providence  and  Kings- 
ton is  forty-five  minutes. 

The  advantages  are  (1)  a  surpassingly  beautiful  location  on  a  hill 

that  overlooks  a  valley  spreading  out  its  gorgeous  panorama  for 

miles  and  miles;    (2)  a  freedom  from  disease  that  statis- 

Many 

advantages,  ^^^g  ^^  ^^^  College  show  to  be  quite  phenomenal,  and  a 
life  in  the  open  air  and  country  that  fosters  good  health  and  sturdy 
physical  manhood  and  womanhood;  (3)  release  from  the  distrac- 
tions of  city  life.  The  constant  nervous  irritation  of  the  mere  phy- 
sical noise  and  roar  of  the  city  is  avoided.  Freedom  from  the  clam- 
orous appeal  of  thousand-fold  distractions  gives  opportunity  for 
serious  mental  effort,  and  the  absence  of  temptations  to  evil  thrust 
hourly  into  the  very  face  allows  time  for  the  growth  of  moral  strength. 
The  city  is  at  hand  when  it  is  needed.  All  its  advantages  are  within 
an  hour's  ride  at  any  time.  At  the  same  time  the  sturdy  vigor  of  body 
and  mind,  the  physical  and  moral  health  imparted  by  life  in  the 
country,  are  obtained.  There  is  no  question  but  these  advantages 
are  worth  all  that  they  cost. 


report  of  commission  of  inquiry.  3/ 

Number  of  Students  per  Teacher. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  number  of  teachers  in  the  Rhode  Island 
college  is  larger  than  is  necessary,  that  classes  are  unnecessarily 
Condensation    Small,  and  that  by  condensation  of  certain  classes  fewer 

often  undesir- 
able, teachers  would  be  needed  and  expenses  reduced.     Even 

granting  that  there  might,  in  some  cases,  be  a  combination  of  classes 
such  as  that  suggested,  it  is  by  no  means  sure  that  it  would  be  desir- 
able. In  such  a  school  as  this  it  is  necessary  that  certain  courses  be 
maintained  even  though  there  are  only  one  or  two  scholars  in  attend- 
ance, and  such  courses  often  cannot  be  combined  with  others  without 
materially  decreasing  their  value.  In  the  Connecticut  Agricultural 
college  there  were  only  four  students  in  the  department  of  mechanic 
arts  in  1907,  and  yet  the  full  courses  had  to  be  maintained  and 
teachers  paid.  In  Rhode  Island,  also,  certain  branches  of  agricul- 
ture must  be  represented,  certain  courses  maintained  and  teachers 
hired,  even  when  the  number  of  students  is  small. 

Again,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  Rhode  Island  college  is 
young,  and  such  conditions  are  necessary  attendants  of  young  in- 
€ondition  stitutious.  Any  college,  in  order  to  be  a  college,  must, 
emporary.  fj-Qm  the  first,  maintain  a  certain  minimum  of  courses. 
At  first  the  relative  number  of  students  is  small,  but  as  the  institu- 
tion grows,  this  condition  gradually  disappears.  It  must  be  treated, 
then,  as  a  temporary  condition  and  one  which  wdll  be  removed  as 
soon  as  the  enrollment  increases.  Indeed,  the  accompanying  table 
clearly  shows  that  this  condition  is  already  disappearing.  While  in 
1906  there  were  only  5h  students  per  teacher,  in  1909  there  were  over 
7h  per  teacher. 


38 


RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 


Table  VII. 

Number  of  Students  per  Teacher  in  National  Colleges  of  New  England. 
Based  on  Total  Enrollment. 


1906. 


1907. 


1908. 


1909. 


Connecticut  Agricultural  College 

University  of  Maine 

Massachusetts  Agricultural  College 

Massachvisetts  Institute  of  Technology . . . 
New   Hampshire   College   of   Agriculture 

and  Mechanic  Arts 

Rhode  Island  College  of  Agriculture  and 

Mechanic  Arts 

University  of  Vermont 


5,1 

12.5 

8.8 

13.0 

9.0 

8.7 

5.9 

5.8 

7.9 

7.9 

5.5 

6.5 

7.2 

7.2 

10.8(6.8)* 
9.3(8.8)* 
6.3 
5.6(5.4)* 

6.5 

6.6 
11.6(9.5)* 


11.4(7.7)* 
10.3(9.1)* 


5.9(5.7)* 


7.5 


♦Excluding  summer-school  and  professional  students. 

It  is  generally  recognized,  also,  that  classes  in  liberal  arts  courses 
can  readily  be  larger  than  those  in  agriculture  and  engineering  with- 
Smaii  classes  ^^*  impairing  the  effectiveness  of  the  instruction.  Con- 
necessary.  sequeutly,  it  is  uot  fair  to  compare  the  Rhode  Island 
college  with  institutions  where  a  large  part  of  the  enrollment  is  made 
up  of  liberal  arts  students. 

There  is  still  another  reason  why  the  Rhode  Island  college  does 
not  at  present  appear  to  stand  as  high  in  this  respect  as  she  should. 
There  is  no  summer  school  maintained  here,  while  in  all 
the  other  national  colleges  in  New  England,  with  the 
single  exception  of  New  Hampshire  College,  summer  schools  are 
maintained.  It  is  obviously  unfair  to  consider  students  attending 
a  summer  session  of  from  two  to  six  weeks  as  equivalent  to  the 
regular  students  taking  the  full  year's  courses. 

In  spite  of  these  disavantages,  the  Rhode  Island  college  is  by  no 
means  so  far  in  the  rear  of  the  other  New  England  colleges  as  some 
seem  to  suppose.  In  1906,  Connecticut  Agricultural 
College  had  fewer  pupils  per  teacher  than  Rhode  Island 
College.     In  1907,  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology   was 


Summer 
school. 


Not  behind. 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  39 

lower,  and  in  1908  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College,  the  New 
Hampshire  college,  and  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology 
were  lower.  Excluding  the  universities  of  Maine  and  Vermont, 
on  account  of  the  large  number  of  students  in  liberal  arts  courses, 
we  find  that,  in  1908  and  in  1909,  the  Connecticut  Agricultural  college 
alone  stands  higher  than  the  Rhode  Island  college  in  this  respect. 
In  the  case  of  the  former,  the  higher  standing,  almost  entirely,  due 
to  the  summer  students.  If  these  were  excluded,  the  two  institu- 
tions would  be  nearly  equal,  Connecticut  having,  in  1908,  6.8  pupils 
per  teacher  and  Rhode  Island  College  6.6;  in  1909,  Connecticut  has 
7.7  and  Rhode  Island  7.5  pupils  per  teacher.  Another  significant 
fact  may  be  noted;  namely,  that  while  for  three  years,  1906, 1907,  and 
1908,  the  tendency  in  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  college, 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  the  New  Hampshire  college, 
and  the  Connecticut  Agricultural  college  was  quite  decidedly  toward 
a  decrease  in  the  number  of  students  per  teacher,  in  the  Rhode  Island 
college  the  tendency  is  the  other  way,  and  decidedly  so  for  the  present 
year  1909.  It  might  be  even  questioned,  in  view  of  the  tendency 
in  other  institutions,  whether  it  would  be  desirable  to  have  a  much 
larger  proportion  of  students  per  teacher  than  there  is  at  present. 

In  conclusion,  the  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  existing  con- 
ditions and  present  tendencies  are  such  as  to  remove  any  cause  for 
criticism  of  the  present  and  any  apprehension  for  the  future. 

Number  of  Agricultural  Students. 

It  has  been  charged  that  although  this  is  an  agricultural  school, 
only  nineteen  students  were  enrolled  in  courses  in  agriculture  in  1908. 
Not  purely  ^^  ^eply  to  the  statement  it  may  be  said,  first,  that  it  is 
agncu  tura .  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^  never  was  intended  to  be  a  purely  agricul- 
tural school.  By  the  terms  of  the  grant,  ''subjects  related  to  agri- 
culture and  the  mechanic  arts"  were  to  be  taught.  It  could  not  de- 
vote itself  to  agriculture  alone  and  still  receive  all  of  the  government 
aid.     In  regard  to  this.  Senator  Morrill  said:  "It  is  perhaps  needless 


40  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

to  say  that  these  colleges  were  not  established  or  endowed  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  teaching  agriculture.  Their  object  was  to  give  an 
opportunity  for  those  engaged  in  industrial  pursuits  to  obtain  more 
knowledge  of  the  practical  sciences  related  to  agriculture  and  me- 
chanic arts — such  as  they  could  not  then  obtain  at  most  of  our  in- 
stitutions called  classical  colleges. 

"It  was  never  intended  to  force  the  boys  of  farmers  going  into 
these  institutions  to  study  so  that  they  should  all  come  out  farmers. 
To  deveio  ^^  ^^^  merely  intended  to  give  them  an  opportunity  to 
citizenship.  ^^  g^^  ^^^  ^^  ^^  ^^  with  advantage,  if  they  saw  fit.  Ob- 
viously, not  manual,  but  intellectual  instruction  was  the  paramount 
object.  ...  It  was  a  liberal  education  that  was  proposed.  The 
act  of  1862  proposed  a  system  of  broad  education  by  colleges  not 
limited  to  a  superficial  and  dwarfed  training  such  as  might  be  had  at 
an  industrial  school,  nor  mere  manual  training  such  as  might  be  sup- 
plied by  a  foreman  of  a  workshop  or  by  the  foreman  of  an  experi- 
mental farm.  .  .,  .  These  are  not  to  be  disparaged  .  .  .  but 
should  not  largely  interfere  v/ith  the  precious  time  required  for  a 
definite  amount  of  scientific  and  literary  culture."  (Report  of  U.  S. 
Bureau  of  Education,  1900.     Vol.  2,  p.  1329.) 

The  founders  of  the  federal  fund  foresaw  that  in  some  states  the 
greater  need  would  be  for  training  in  agriculture  and  in  others  in  the 
.    .    ,,     ,      mechanic  arts.     The  colleges  were  intended  to  meet  the 

Agricultural  ° 

interest.  needs  of  the  people  in  the  states  and  localities  where  they 

were  established,  and  accordingly — were  left  free  to  adapt  them- 
selves to  varying  conditions.  In  this  very  freedom  lies  most  of 
their  value.  Rhode  Island  is  by  no  means  an  agricultural  state. 
It  is  estimated  that  not  over  25,000  people  depend  upon  agricul- 
ture for  their  maintenance,  while  the  great  majority  of  the  popu- 
lation is  engaged  in  manufacturing.  It  could  not  be  expected, 
then,  that  a  college  designed  to  meet  the  needs  of  a  manufacturing 
people  could  have  a  large  proportion  of  agricultural  students.  Indeed, 
if  there  were  more  students  in  agriculture  than  in  the  various 
branches  of  mechanic  arts,  it  would  show  that  the  college  is  not  meet- 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  41 

ing  the  needs  of  the  state.  It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that 
agriculture,  even  in  Rhode  Island,  is  a  great  public  interest. 

However,  a  complete  consideration  of  the  enrollment  of  the  vari- 
ous courses  in  the  college  shows  a  very  gratifying  increase  in  the 
Increase  in      number  of  studcuts  taking  the  regular  courses  in  agri- 

agricultural 

students.  culture.  In  1905,  there  was  one  student  taking  the  regular 
course  in  agriculture;  in  1909  there  were  twenty-one.  Counting  the 
students  in  the  short  courses  and  in  the  poultry  courses,  there  were, 
in  1905,  twenty-six  students;  and  in  1909,  fifty-four  students.  In 
other  words,  the  total  enrollment  in  courses  in  agriculture  has  more 
than  doubled  in  five  years.  There  are  few,  if  any,  institutions  in 
the  country  that  can  show  a  greater  proportionate  increase. 

Special  attention  should  be  given  to  the  great  increase  in  students 
in  the  regular  four-year  courses  in  agi'iculture.  This  is  much  more 
Growth  in        significant  than  any  increase  in  the  number  taking  short 

four-year 

courses.  courscs  would  be.     It  might  be  comparatively  easy  to 

attract  large  numbers  of  students  to  four  or  six-week  courses  of  a 
popular  nature,  but  those  who  are  willing  and  eager  to  spend  four 
years  in  such  work  must  have  a  very  definite  purpose.  The  train- 
ing they  receive  in  the  four  years  of  work  will  make  them  especially 
valuable  to  the  agricultural  interest  of  the  state. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Commission,  while  it  is  frankly  admitted 
that  a  larger  number  of  agricultural  students  is  desirable,  the  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  regular  students,  as  well  as  that  in  the  total 
enrollment,  is  sufficient  to  remove  any  apprehension  in  regard  to  the 
future  of  this  department  of  the  college. 

"Not  Able  to  Furnish  Managers  for  Farms." 

Another  criticism  made  against  the  college  was  that  in  1905  the 
college  was  not  able,  on  demand,  to  furnish  a  manager  for  a  certain 
gentleman's  farm. 

The  circumstances  attending  this  demand  have  never  been  pub- 
licy  stated.  The  time  of  the  demand  is  important.  If  it  was  during 
ing^hst.^^^*'    'the  school  term,  there  would  be  naturally  no  students 

6 


42  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

ready  to  take  up  the  work.  Good  men  do  not  have  to  wait  long 
after  graduation  before  securing  positions.  Suitable  men  are  not 
lying  around  to  be  secured  on  demand.  The  college  has  no  waiting 
list  of  applicants  for  positions. 

The  salary  also  plays  an  important  role.  Expert  service  cannot  be 
secured  without  the  payment  of  an  adequate  salary.  A  trained  man 
Saiar  insuf-  ^^^^  ^^^  need  to  accept  the  wages  of  unskilled  labor. 
ficient.  Owners  of  estates  can  expect  to  secure  the  services  of  well- 

trained  managers  only  when  they  are  willing  to  pay  a  fair  salary 
for  such  services. 

Of  course,  the  intended  inference  from  this  single  instance  is  the 

generalization  that  no  men  are  being  prepared  for  farming.    On  ex- 

influentiai        amiuatlou  of  the  records  of  graduates  we  find,  that  nine- 
positions  held 
by  graduates,    teen  per  ccut.  havc  taken  the  agricultural  course  and 

that  seventeen  per  cent,  are  actually  engaged  in  farming  or  the 

teaching  of   agriculture.     Two  of  the  leading  egg-producers  in  this 

state  both  studied  at  this  college.     During  the  past  week  (April  2),  a 

former  graduate  has  accepted  a  position  as  a  farm  manager,  and 

a  member  of  the  present  graduating  class  has  been  recommended 

as  manager  of  a  large  poultry  plant.     Concerning  the  hundreds  of 

registered  undergraduates  and  short-course  men,  no  statistics  can 

be  given,  as  records  of  their  movements,  after  leaving  college,  are  not 

kept;  none,  however,  so  far  as  we  know,  are  unemployed. 

"No  Abandoned  Farm  Reclaimed." 

It  has  been  asserted  that  no  abandoned  farm  has  been  reclaimed 
by  the  college.  This  assertion  it  would  be  difficult  either  to  prove 
College  farm     or  to  disprovc.     Much  depends   upon   the   meaning   of 

an  abandoned 

farm.  the  term  "  abandoned."     In  a  very  real  sense  the  college 

farm  itself  was  an  abandoned  farm;  for  it  was  no  longer  being 
cultivated  and  its  yield  at  first  was  very  small  indeed.  At  the  be- 
ginning a  crop  of  hay  hardly  exceeded  400  pounds  per  acre,  and  that 
consisted  of  weeds  of  slight  market  value. 

Notwithstanding  this  impoverished  condition,  the  land  has  been 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  43 

renovated,  and  brought  to  a  high  state  of  fertihty,  in  some  cases 
Value  of  crops  wholly,  in  Other  cases  chiefly,  by  the  use  of  chemical 

greatly  in- 
creased, manures;  and  at  a  decided  profit.    As  instances  of  the  crop 

production,  the  average  yield  of  hay  has  been  maintained,  for  a  period 
of  six  years,  in  excess  of  four  tons  per  acre.  A  yield  as  great  as  6.76 
tons  per  acre  has  been  secured.  Yields  of  shell  corn  have  risen  from 
15  and  16  bushels  to  as  high  as  91  bushels  per  acre;  corn  stover  from 
one  ton  to  over  three  and  a  half  tons;  potatoes  from  50  to  60  bushels 
to  over  300,  and  other  crops  in  proportion,  careful  and  accurate  state- 
ments of  methods  and  actual  cost  have  been  circulated  (see  bulletin 
99  and  103  of  the  Experiment  Station),  and  voluntary  letters  from 
men  that  have  been  helped  thereby  are  on  file  and  can  be  seen. 

"College  Officials  Ignorant  of  Agriculture." 

It  has  been  said  that  the  college  officials  know  nothing  of  agri- 
culture. This  accusation  of  incompetency  seems  to  be  clearly  dis- 
Assertionun-  P^oved  by  the  records  of  crop  yields  during  the  past 
foun  e  .  years,  as  previously  mentioned;  by  the  successful  handl- 

ing of  greenhouse  products;  and  by  the  highly  satisfactory  con- 
dition of  the  dairy  herd  at  the  present  time.  The  testimony  of  the 
state  grange,  through  its  committee  reports  and  its  recommenda- 
tions to  the  General  Assembly,  is  strongly  contradictory  of  this  asser- 
tion. The  success  of  students  going  out  from  the  college  courses  is 
equally  strong  evidence.  Witness  the  success  of  H.  R.  Lewis,  of  last 
year,  going  directly  from  the  college  classrooms  to  manage  the  stock 
and  poultry  on  a  large  farm  in  New  Jersey,  and  doing  it  so  success- 
fully that  they  were  unwilling  to  let  him  go  to  a  better  position  this 
year  and  raised  his  salary  materially  to  prevent  it.  The  extension 
work  is  eagerly  sought. 
Opinion  of  Let  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  Chancellor 

Chancellor 

Chace.  Chace  testify  to  the  skill  of  the  Experiment  Station: 

"April  6,  1909. 
"  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  testify  to  the  value  that  the  Experiment  Station 
at  Kingston  has  been  to  us  at  Albion.     I  used  to  be  somewhat  sceptical  as  to 


44  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

the  value  of  agricultural  stations  in  Rhode  Island,  but  have  completely  changed 
my  mind  on  this  subject  within  the  last  few  years. 

"  The  advice  and  assistance  that  your  officers  have  given  to  us  at  our  farm  in 
Albion  the  last  few  years  have  been  of  great  use  to  us,  and  I  think  all  Rhode 
Island  can  be  much  benefited  by  their  help. 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

"ARNOLD  B.  CHACE 
"  {Chancellor  of  Brown  University)." 

Publicity  of  Accounts. 

It  has  been  alleged  with  considerable  persistence  that  the  manage- 
ment has  failed,  and  even  refused,  to  make  public  its  accounts.  The 
^    ,  Commission  finds  that  the  management  of  the  college  has 

Books  open  °  '^ 

to  public.  niade  public,  in  its  regular  and  special  reports,  a  com- 
plete account  of  its  income  and  its  expenditures.  In  truth,  there 
has  been  in  recent  years  no  lack  of  opportunities  for  all  citizens  of 
the  state  to  know  thoroughly  the  finances  of  the  institution.  As 
shown  elsewhere,  the  accounts  of  the  institution  are  kept  in  a  com- 
mendable manner. 

State  Appropriations. 

It  has  been  asserted  that  the  state  appropriates  $94,000  annually, 
for  the  college. 

As  has  been  shown  elsewhere  in  this  report,  the  total  income  from 
the  state  and  nation  in  1906  is  $85,500,  of  which  the  state  con- 
state support   tributed  $38,000.     In  1907  the  total  income  from  these 

less  than  na- 

tionaiaid.  sources  was  $78,139,  of  which  the  state  contributed  $28,- 
639;  in  1908  the  state  contributed  $50,000  out  of  a  total  of  $106,500. 
These  figures  include  state  appropriations  for  current  expenses, 
building  and  repairs,  and  for  all  other  purposes.  The  income  from 
the  national  government  includes  that  for  the  experiment  station. 
The  regular  annual  appropriation  from  the  state  is  $25,000. 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  45 

V.     PROPOSED  CHANGES  CONSIDERED. 

In  various  proposals  for  the  future  of  the  college,  to  which  the  Com- 
mission has  given  attention,  there  is  found  more  destructive  criticism 
than  helpful  suggestion  for  improvement.  Thoughtful  citizens  and 
public  officers,  however,  prompted  by  a  sincere  desire  that  the  state 
receive  larger  benefits  from  the  institution  through  its  greater  effi- 
ciency and  a  wider  application  of  its  service,  have  offered  sugges- 
tions worthy  of  sincere  consideration. 

Removal  op  Mechanic  Arts  Department. 

In  response  to  a  request  of  the  governor  and  a  joint  resolution  of 
the  General  Assembly,  the  Commission  has  given  serious  and  care- 
ful consideration  to  the  proposal  to  transfer  the  department  of 
mechanic  arts  from  Kingston  to  Providence  or  other  industrial 
center.  In  estimating  the  gains  and  losses  to  be  derived  from 
such  removal,  it  is  essential  not  only  to  be  mindful  of  the  re- 
quirements of  the  national  government,  but  also  to  take  into  account 
the  end  sought,  advantages  expected,  and  the  cost  of  the  change. 

It  has  been  asked  whether  under  national  requirements  or  restric- 
is  removal  tions  departments  of  the  college  may  be  separated.  So 
practicable?  ^^^  ^^  ^j^^  national  government  is  concerned,  the  Com- 
mission finds  that  the  state  is  under  obligation  to  maintain  a  de- 
partment of  mechanic  arts  of  collegiate  rank,  but  that  it  may  do  so 
in  a  separate  institution.  No  state  has  ever  separated  the  mechanical 
from  the  agricultural  department  after  both  have  been  established 
in  one  institution.  Some  states,  like  Connecticut,  have  united  the 
two  departments  after  an  experience  of  their  separate  maintenance- 
The  only  state  to  maintain  them  in  separate  institutions  is  Massa- 
chusetts, which,  since  their  organization,  she  has  done  respectively 
in  the  Massachusetts'  College  of  Agriculture  and  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology.  It  is,  therefore,  permissible  to  sep.arate  and 
remove  the  department  of  mechanic  arts.  It  remains  to  consider 
whether  it  is  advisable. 


46  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

Ad  t  e  of  ^^  ^^  urged,  upon  reasonable  grounds,  that  a  school  of 
removal.  mechanic  arts  should  be  located  in  a  large  city.  The  ob- 
vious advantages  of  such  location  are  convenience  of  access  for  a 
larger  part  of  the  population,  larger  patronage  and  service  through  a 
greater  number  of  students,  and  closer  touch  with  an  industrial  and 
commercial  center.  Visitation  of  shops  and  factories  would  cer- 
tainly be  more  convenient;  but  in  this  class  of  institutions,  provid- 
ing their  own  shop-work,  it  may  be  observed  that  such  visitation  is 
infrequent,  and  that  the  present  location  is  by  no  means  far  distant 
from  industrial  centers.  For  schools  of  lower  grade,  for  workmen,  a 
location  among  shops  would  be  more  imperative. 

Aside  from  sacrifice  of  vested  interests,  loss  of  past  growth,  dis- 
organization and  other  minor  disadvantages,  removal  of  the  mechanic 
Disadvantao-es  ^^'^^  department  would,  it  is  claimed,  impair  the  agri- 
of  removal,  cultural  instruction,  seriously  weaken  the  whole  insti- 
tution, and  lessen  its  value  to  the  state.  It  is  further  claimed  that 
the  mechanical  department  is  naturally  the  complement  of  the  agri- 
cultural, and  that  the  former  may  be  maintained  at  a  relatively  small 
cost  with  the  latter.  If  this  be  true,  their  separation  would  mean 
economic  loss.  For  greater  usefulness  the  college  evidently  needs 
enrichment  and  growth,  rather  than  curtailment  and  limitation  of 
opportunity. 

In  the  proposal  of  removal  it  is  doubtless  presumed  that  a  part  of 
Lack  of  funds  the  national  and  state  funds  would  be  available  for  a  new 

for  two  insti-  .  ..... 

tutions.  institution.      The   annual  mcome  susceptible  oi  division 

now  amounts  to  $67,500.  In  response  to  careful  inquiry,  the  Com- 
mission has  been  unable  to  find  any  good  authority  for  a  belief  that 
even  one  collegiate  institution  can  be  successfully  maintained  on  a 
less  sum.  The  Commission,  however,  has  made  a  careful  study  of 
instruction  and  its  cost,  to  ascertain  how  much  might  be  saved  by 
eliminating  instruction  given  exclusively  in  mechanic  arts  and  not 
given  in^  other  courses.  While  much  instruction  applies  to  all 
courses,  it  appears  that  less  than  one-fifth  of  the  instruction  given 
is  devoted  exclusively  to   mechanic  arts.      It  follows,  then,  since 


EEPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF   INQUIRY.  47 

other  expenses  would  remain  practically  the  same  with  or  without 
the  mechanical  department,  that  to  maintain  the  college  at  its 
present  standard  all  the  income  would  be  needed  except  one-fifth  of 
the  annual  amount  paid  for  salaries,  which  is  about  $35,000.  In 
other  words,  on  the  assumption  that  other  departments  are  to  be 
left  unimpaired,  the  department  of  mechanic  arts  would  go  to  its 
new  location  with  an  annual  income  of  $7,000,  for  the  founding  of  a 
new  collegiate  institution. 

The  question  here  arises.  What  kind  of  an  institution  have  the  ad- 
vocates of  removal  in  view?  In  the  opinion  of  the  Commission,  of 
End  sou  ht  ^^^^  three  classes  engaged  in  industries,  (1)  engineers  and 
in  removal,  superintendents,  (2)  assistants  and  foremen,  and  (3) 
workmen,  provisions  are  already  made  for  the  first  two  classes  in 
technical  colleges  and  high  schools,  and  that  the  great  need  of  the 
present  is  schools  to  provide  industrial  education  for  the  third  class, 
namely,  workmen.  Under  the  federal  grant  the  national  funds 
available  can  be  used  only  for  collegiate  instruction  (R.  I.  Reports, 
XVII,  816-818).  It  follows,  then,  that  to  remove  the  mechanical 
department  and  establish  it  successfully  in  a  new  location  would 
contemplate  founding  an  institution  of  the  class  represented  by  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology.  The  immense  cost  of 
gi'ounds,  buildings,  equipment  and  maintenance  for  such  an  insti- 
tution seems  at  present  to  prohibit  such  plan,  while  industrial  edu- 
cation for  workmen  is  in  greater  demand.  Could  the  fund  be  used 
for  a  trade  or  industrial  school  for  workmen,  a  different  question 
would  confront  us,  which  it  is  futile  to  discuss. 

For  these  reasons,  the  Commission  is  unable  to  approve  the  re- 
moval of  the  mechanic  arts  department.  To  remove  the  whole  insti- 
tution, which  the  Commission  by  no  means  favors,  would  seem  to 
be  a  less  objectionable  and  more  practicable  proposition. 

Proposed  Elimination  of  Courses  of  Instruction. 

It  has  been  proposed  to  reduce  the  institution  to  the  experiment 
station.     An  examination  of  the  situation  shows  that  the  fundamen- 


48  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

Branch  of  the  ^^^  purpose  foi'  which  the  college  was  founded  would  be 
college.  nullified  by  such  action.      In  principle  and  national  law, 

the  experiment  station  is  a  branch  of  the  college  and  cannot  exist 
apart  from  it.  To  abolish  the  college  would  be  to  break  the  compact 
between  state  and  nation.  Under  the  national  law  such  act  would 
abolish  the  station. 

Criticism  has  been  offered  that  needless  expense  has  been  incurred 
by  maintaining  courses  which  are  outside  the  legitimate  function  of 
Elimination  ^^^  collcge,  and  for  which  there  is  no  demand.  Contrary 
impracticable.  ^^  -^^  expectation,  the  Commission  finds  that  there  is  no 
instruction  given  which  is.  not  needed  and  which  is  not  justified  or 
required  by  law.  Possibly  there  might  be  a  greater  unification  of 
courses,  but  at  the  expense  of  less  efficiency  of  technical  training 
and  to  the  disadvantage  of  individual  students.  Cutting  down 
courses  has  always  proved  an  unsatisfactory  experience  in  colleges. 
A  study  of  this  matter  seems  to  force  the  conclusion  that  the  college 
will  be  forced,  by  the  demands  of  its  patrons  and  an  intelligent  public 
opinion,  not  to  eliminate  certain  kinds  of  work,  but  to  enlarge  and 
enrich  its  opportunities.  Furthermore,  the  Commission  fails  to  find 
where  any  appreciable  saving  of  expense  might  be  secured  through 
any  permissible  elimination. 

Proposed  Reduction  to  an  Agricultural  High  School. 

The  recognized  need  of  instruction  in  agriculture  of  elementary 

and  secondary  grade  doubtless  prompts  the  suggestion  to  change 

the  college  to  a  high  school.     The  advantage  sought  may 

End  sought.  .  •    i        i         i        c        i        i 

be  found  in  the  institution  of  industrial  schools,  for  both 
mechanical  and  agricultural  training.  The  proposed  change  is  barred 
from  consideration  by  the  national  law  that  requires  the  instruction 
of  the  "land-grant"  institutions  to  be  of  collegiate  grade.  (17  R.  I. 
816.)  It  is,  of  course,  possible  for  the  state  to  establish  for  itself, 
at  its  own  expense,  an  agricultural  high  school,  which  would  add 
materially  to  its  educational  system. 


report  of  commission  of  inquiry.  49 

Proposed  Tuition  Charges. 

In  view  of  past  and  present  tendencies  to  make  public  education 
more  free  and  available  to  all  classes,  the  Commission  cannot  approve 
Unwise  sug-  ^^^  proposition  to  establish  tuition  charges  against  Rhode 
gestions.  Island  students.  To  secure  such  trifling  relief  to  the  state 
would  place  a  serious  burden  upon  its  youth  whom  the  very  foun- 
dation of  the  college  seeks  to  help  for  the  common  good,  and  tend 
to  defeat  the  aim  of  a  wider  application  of  its  benefits. 

Hardly  less  objectionable  is  the  suggestion  to  increase  the  low 
tuition  charged  non-resident  students.  To  charge  students  from 
other  states  for  tuition  may  be  justifiable,  but  such  practice  hardly 
seems  to  accord  with  Rhode  Island's  hospitality  and  its  traditional 
Interstate  co-operatiou  with  other  states  in  sharing  in  national 
comity.  responsibility  and  in  promoting  the  general  welfare  of 

the  republic.  The  small  income  derived  from  such  source  hardly 
justifies  the  practice,  and  to  abolish  such  charges  would  seem  to 
accord  better  with  the  dignity  of  the  state  and  its  good  faith  with 
the  nation.  In  matters  of  education  each  state  gives  and  receives; 
benefits,  and  each  has  an  interest,  if  not  responsibility,  in  the  educa- 
tion of  the  youth  of  all  the  others. 

VI.     VALUE  OF  THE  NATIONAL  COLLEGES. 

In  an  evaluation  of  this  class  of  educational  institutions,  the  fol- 
lowing opinions  of  eminent  educators  are  significant: 

In  an  address  delivered  at  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  on  December  29,  1908, 
Influence  of  ^^^  ^ou.  Andrew  S.  Draper  said,  "This  act  (Morrill  Act 
higw  educa-  of  1862)  was  as  epoch-making  in  education  as  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence  was  in  political  progress  or  as  the 
Ordinance  of  1787  was  in  the  advance  of  public  enlightenment  and 
morality." 

Again  in  an  address  at  the  University  of  Maine,  June  9th,  1908, 
he  said,  "The  greatest  uplift  which  has  ever  come  to  university  edu- 


50  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

cation  in  America  or  in  any  land,  came  in  the  Federal  Land  Grant 
on  the  darkest  day  of  the  Civil  War." 

Dr.  W.  E.  Stone,  president  of  Purdue  University,  has  said,  ''The 
impulses  set  in  motion  by  the  passage  of  the  Morrill  Act  have  de- 
A  aid  t  in-  vclopcd  in  a  remarkably  short  time  a  new  education; 
dustnes.  havc    achieved    great    popularity    and    influence;     have 

appealed  to  the  democracy;  and  have  proved  its  inestimable  value 
to  the  industries." 

Only  eleven  years  after  the  foundation  of  the  land-grant,  when  these 
,    colleges  were  still  in  their  infancy,  and  were  being  severely 

Function  and  °  -^  '  b  J 

na^onai  cof-  criticiscd,  Prof .  G.  W.  Atherton  of  Rutgers  College,  N. 
^^^^'  J.,  gave  the  following  estimate  of  their  value.     "These 

institutions  are  the  logical  and  fit  completion  of  the  common  school 
system  of  the  country.  .  .  .  They  are  largely  recruited  from 
the  common  schools  and  they  send  their  graduates  as  teachers  back 
to  the  schools  and  as  workers  back  among  the  people.  They  have 
done  already  more  in  their  short  career,  I  believe,  to  promote  the 
interests  of  scientific  education  in  this  country,  in  distinction  from 
literary,  than  all  other  agencies  combined  ....  They  have 
quickened  in  all  industrial  pursuits  a  demand  for  thoroughly  edu- 
cated scientific  workers.  They  have  met  a  deeply  felt  popular  want 
for  an  education  based  upon  the  science  of  nature  rather  than  the 
science  of  man  and  society.  They  have  compelled  a  large  number 
of  the  old  colleges  either  to  modify  their  courses  of  study,  or  to  es- 
tablish new  scientific  departments.  .  .  .  They  are  furnishing 
free  tuition  to  many  hundred  students,  a  great  portion  of  whom,  es- 
pecially in  the  South  and  West,  could  never  have  entered  college 
without  the  aid  that  has  been  rendered  by  the  Congressional  Grant 
directly,  and  by  way  of  promoting  other  contributors  to  the  same 
object.  .  .  .  They  have  lent  a  new  dignity  to  all  industrial 
pursuits,  by  showing  that  they  are  not  incompatible  with  the  best 
intellectual  attainments,  and  that  they  offer  a  fit  field  for  the  exer- 
cise of  the  highest  order  of  ability  and  training." 

Speaking  of  the  development  of  the  national  colleges  in  the  West, 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  51 

the  Hon.  Andrew  S.  Draper  said,  "For  the  twenty-five  years  follow- 
Cause  of  sue-  -^^S  ^'he  war,  they  (the  states)  often  had  a  hard  time  com- 
''®*^'  plying  with  the  requirements,   (of  the  grant)  but  they 

held  on  .  .  .  wealth  grew;  in  the  eighties  and  more  especially 
in  the  nineties,  land-grant  institutions  had  developed  more  highly 
educated  constituencies,  and,  quite  as  important,  they  began  to  show 
the  people  who  were  engaged  in  the  commercial,  manufacturing, 
transportation,  and  agricultural  industries,  how  to  make  more 
money.  That  settled  it.  Nothing  succeeds  like  success.  They 
went  after  more  money  and  now  each  gets  $50,000  per  year  beyond 
the  proceeds  of  the  land-grants.  And  now,  again,  every  one  of 
the  newer  states  puts  into  its  state  university  or  land-grant  college 
more  than  it  gets  from  the  federal  government,  and  some  of  them 
twenty  times  as  much.  They  are  not  fools;  they  are  more  intent 
than  ever  on  having  all  of  the  education  that  any  state  has,  with 
some  to  spare.  .  .  .  All  the  people  stand  ready  to  make  further 
investments  where  they  will  pay.  They  are  not  doing  it  for  mere 
love.  They  see  that  there  is  money  in  it.  Added  to  the  natural 
educational  enthusiasm,  that  concludes  matters." 

Gen.  Francis  A.  Walker  said,  referring  especially  to  the  technolog- 
ical departments  of  these  colleges:  "In  the  schools  of  applied  science 
Furnish  ideal  ^^^^  technology,  as  they  are  carried  on  to-day  in  the 
United  States,  involving  the  most  thorough  and  scholarly 
study  of  principles  directed  immediately  upon  the  useful  arts  and 
rising  in  the  higher  grades  into  original  investigation  and  research, 
is  to  be  found  almost  the  perfection  of  education  for  young  men." 

President  Wheeler,  of  the  University  of  California,  at  the  semi- 
New  idea  of  Centennial  celebration  of  the  Michigan  Agricultural  College, 
e  uca  ion.  gai(-|^  "  Thesc  collcges  embodied  a  fresh  and  vitally  new 
idea  of  education  and  what  it  is  all  about." 

On  the  same  occasion  Secretary  Wilson  said  that  these  colleges 
Great  assist-     "  have  broadened  the  minds  and  strengthened  the  arms 

ance  to  the 

farmers.  of  the  farmers,  helped  them  into  a  class  by  themselves 

among  tillers  of  the  soil,  and  dignified  their  calling.'" 


52  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

The  sentiment  was  freely  expressed  at  this  celebration  that  "the 
Improvement    agricultural  college  with  its  experiment  station  is  looked 

of  rural 

conditions.  to  as  the  leader  in  the  movement  for  the  improvement 
not  only  of  agriculture  as  an  industry,  but  the  farmer  as  well  and 
the  social  conditions  of  his  environment." 

Value  of  the  Rhode  Island  College. 

After  a  preliminary  examination  of  the  system  of  national  colleges 
and  of  this  college  in  particular,  the  Commission,  while  recognizing 
that  some  criticisms  were  warranted,  was  so  convinced  of  the 
present  value  of  the  college  to  the  state  and  of  the  possibilities  of 
its  development,  that  formal  resolutions  were  adopted  expressing 
confidence  in  the  institution  and  bespeaking  for  it  a  more  generous 
support,  financial  and  moral,  from  the  people  of  the  state. 

In  attempting  to  determine  the  value  of  the  college  to  the  state, 
it  is  essential  to  keep  in  mind  the  following  facts.  In  the  first  place, 
it  is  in  its  beginnings,  as  one  of  the  youngest  of  its  class,  is  still  in 
a  stage  of  development,  and  has  not  yet  come  to  a  period  of  matu- 
rity, full  efficiency,  and  highest  value.  Also,  the  potential  value  of  a 
growing  educational  institution  is  always  greater  than  present  re- 
sults, however  valuable  they  may  be.  Past  and  present  values  are 
always  an  assurance  of  greater  returns.  Again,  the  value  of  school 
or  college  cannot  be  measured  wholly  by  economic  standards.  Neither 
^ ,     ,.     ,      can  the  teacher  check  up  his  work  like  a  bookkeeper  nor 

Educational  '^  '^ 

values.  ^^^  ^j^g  president  of  a  college  count  up  a  year's  profits  like 

the  manager  of  a  department  store.  •  While  increased  eflS.ciency  in 
industry  or  commerce  due  to  certain  training  may  be  easily  estimated 
in  dollars,  the  value  of  the  education  for  culture  and  citizenship  in- 
volved in  the  same  training  is  too  high  for  such  measurement,  and 
can  be  appraised  only  by  a  genuine  faith  in  mankind. 

Measuring  the  value  of  the  college  by  the  standards,  experience, 

and  results  of  other  like  institutions,  the  Commission  is  of  the  sincere 

opinion  that  Rhode  Island  has  had  as  large  returns  from 

Comparative  '^  .  ° 

values.  ^^  ^g  other  states,  and  larger  than  many,  from  theirs. 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  53 

-Greater  benefits  may  have  been  possible,  but  under  existing  cir- 
cumstances could  not  have  been  reasonably  expected.  In  this  con- 
nection it  should  be  appreciated  that  in  recent  years  our  own  in- 
stitution has,  in  general,  grown  more  rapidly  than  others  in  num- 
bers and  extent  of  service.  With  the  present  relative  rate  of  growth 
it  will,  in  a  few  years,  occupy  a  much  higher  rank  in  numbers,  effi- 
ciency, and  reputation. 

It  may  not  be  widely  known  that  in  the  past  five  years  the  college 
has  advanced  in  the  extension  and  character  of  its  work  as  well  as 
„.  ,  in  numbers.     As  is  shown  elsewhere,  a  larger  number  of 

Higher  '  ° 

standard.  -^^  studeuts  are  of  collegiate  grade,  its  students  are  more 
mature,  its  standard  of  scholarship  is  higher.  Its  present  standard 
of  collegiate  courses,  which  by  no  means  compares  unfavorably 
with  corresponding  courses  in  like  colleges,  may  ere  long,  in  normal 
development,  be  raised  to  the  standard  set  by  the  Carnegie  Founda- 
tion, and  take  rank  with  American  colleges  of  standard  grade. 

The   Commission   has   found   much   misunderstanding  regarding 

the  purpose  of  its  founding  and  the  specific  objects  for  w^hich  the 

college  exists.     For  this  reason  its  aims  have  been  mis- 

Misjudgments. 

judged  and  its  work  undervalued.  As  this  report  else- 
where discloses,  the  colleges  were  not  founded  exclusively  for  vo- 
cational or  technical  education,  but  that  a  college  might  exist  in 
every  state,  with  national  co-operation  and  support,  which  should 
provide  vocational  education  in  addition  to  the  cultural  and  tra- 
ditional courses  of  existing  colleges.  It  was  also  the  pur- 
True  aim. 

pose  of  the  foundation  that  in  every  state  free  collegiate 

instruction  be  offered  to  even  the  humblest  youth.  This  great 
national  movement  gave  a  great  impetus  to  scientific  and  technical 
education,  both  in  new  and  old  institutions;  but  it  in  no  wise  was 
directed  to  displace  classical  or  cultural  education. 

True  to  the  purpose  of  its  founding,  the  Rhode  Island  college  ex- 
ists to  provide  not  only  vocational  training,  but  also  an  education 
Education  for   ^°^'  culture  and  citizenship.     A  good  engineer  or  farmer 
and  a  good  citizen  are  one.     True  vocational  training 


54  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

has  cultural  value  and  makes  for  good  citizenship.  Education  for 
American  citizenship  is  the  first  function  of  this  college,  and  its  value 
cannot  be  appraised  without  a  recognition  of  its  service  for  cultured 
citizenship.  And  only  by  a  just  recognition  of  this  aim  in  all  its 
work  can  its  value  to  the  state  be  increased. 

Whatever  one  may  think  about  the  maintenance  of  higher  insti- 
tutions at  public  expense,  he  cannot  fail  to  realize  that  it  means 
Fre  c  11  i  te  ^^^^^h  to  many  of  our  aspiring  youth  of  limited  means 
instruction,  ^j^^^  ^j^^  natiou  and  state  have  provided  him  opportu- 
nities of  free  collegiate  education.  In  accepting  national  aid  and  in 
establishing  the  college  the  state  committed  itself  to  the  principle 
and  practice  of  providing  free  public  education  of  collegiate  grade 
and  assumed  the  obligation  of  its  maintenance  to  the  nation  and 
its  own  citizens.  Without  question,  the  state  received  value  in  the 
increased  efficiency  and  more  enlightened  citizenship  of  the  college's 
graduates  and  students,  most  of  whom  would  not  seek  and  find 
elsewhere  similar  advantages.  Furthermore,  it  is  of  some  account 
to  civic  pride  that  the  youth  of  Rhode  Island  enjoy  an  equality  of 
educational  opportunity  given  to  the  youth  of  other  states  in  the 
colleges  of  national  foundation. 

Enlightened  industrialism  is  the  basis  to-day,  more  than  ever  be- 
fore, of  state  and  n.ational  prosperity.  It  is  not  what  we  wish,  but 
Industrial  what  w^e  must  clo,  that  determines  public  policy  and  ac- 
education.  ^-^^  to-day.  It  is  not  what  we  ought  to  do,  but  what 
we  can  do,  that  determines  educational  effort.  To  keep  our  position 
as  a  state,  as  against  the  enlightened  competition  of  other  states  and 
nations,  we  must  provide  increased  opportunities  for  industrial  edu- 
cation throughout  our  whole  school  system,  from  the  common 
school  on  through  the  high  school,  to  and  including  the  technical 
college;  for,  paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  the  higher  school  is  the 
basis  and  condition  of  the  lower.  It  is  fortunate,  in  view  of  public 
demand  for  industrial  education,  that  the  state  already  has  in  opera- 
tion a  technical  college.  To  add  industrial  courses  to  its  public 
schools  would  complete  a  system  of  public  industrial  education. 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF   INQUIRY,  55 

By  continuing  in  her  college  the  policy  current  in  the  common 
school  and  high  school,  the  state  promotes  the  industrial  life  of 
the  people  by  offering  free  instruction  and  training  in  agricul- 
ture, engineering,  and  home  economics.  The  college  has  been  in 
operation  since  the  fall  of  1892.  Its  value,  in  part,  is  indicated 
by  the  number  of  students  sharing  in  its  opportunities.  It  has  en- 
rolled a  total  of  1,059  persons,  as  follows:  Graduates,  142;  under- 
graduates,  652;    poultry  course,   243;    short  course  in 

Members. 

farm  practice,  22.  It  has  enrolled  at  present  184  stu- 
dents, averaging  over  twenty  years  of  age.  Its  college  attendance  has 
steadily  increased  for  the  last  five  years  at  the  rate  of  from  12  per- 
cent, to  25  percent,  each  year,  indicating  a  service  to  larger  numbers 
in  the  future.  Such  figures  indicate  the  actual  present  vogue  of  the 
college  from  the  educational  side. 

Agricultural  Department. 

On  the  agricultural  side,  the  attendance  during  the  current  year 
has  been  42  students,  not  including  poultry  students,  a  larger  rela- 
tive attendance  by  far  than  anywhere  else  in  the  United  States, 
considering  the  ratio  of  agricultural  students  to  agricultural  popu- 
lation. It  will  without  doubt  be  admitted  that  the  poultry  in- 
dustry of  the  state  has  been  greatly  aided  by  the  work 

Poultry. 

at  the  college.     In  dairying,  likewise,  much  has   been 

done.     An  experiment  now  being  carried  on  by  the  college  promises 

to  show  the  best  way  of  disposing  of  a  tuberculous  herd 

Dairying. 

of  COWS.  It  is  being  carried  on  under  the  direction  of  an 
acknowledged  expert,  who  speaks  very  encouragingly  of  the  progress 
made.  Other  work  is  in  progress  or  in  contemplation  to  encourage 
the  breeding  of  horses,  to  demonstrate  methods  of  preserving  the 
health  of  herds  of  cows,  to  breed  a  herd  up  to  better  production, 
shee  ^°  encourage  the  raising  of  sheep  and  effect  the  suppres- 

raismg.  ^^^^  ^£  ^j^^  ^^^  nuisaucc,  to  show  how  clean  milk  can  be 

produced  at  comparatively  small  expense,  to  teach  the  use  of  the 
tuberculin  test  for  buying  cows,  the  proper  disinfection  of  contami- 


56  •    RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

nated  barns,  the  use  of  the  Babcock  test,  etc.  There  is  abundant 
evidence  that  students  who  have  gone  out  from  the  agricultural 
courses,  whether  graduates  or  not,  have  made  good,  for  themselves 
and  employers,  and  have  been  helpful  to  their  communities  and 
the  state.     The  value  of  this  department  is  indicated 

Horticulture. 

by  the  character  of  its  courses,  which  are  as  follows: 
1.  Propagation  of  plants;  2.  Vegetable  gardening;  3.  Fruit 
culture;  4.  Spraying  and  pruning;  5.  Greenhouse  construction  and 
management;  6.  Floriculture;  7.  Vegetable  forcing;  8.  Literature 
of  horticulture;  9.  Investigations;  10.  Varieties  of  cultivated  fruits;;. 
11.  Advanced  vegetable  gardening;  12.  Plant  breeding;  13.  Land- 
scape gardening. 

Mechanic  Arts  Department. 

On  the  mechanical  side,  the  attendance  has  been  far  below  what 
the  state  might  give,  and  what  it  would  give,  if  the  opportunities 
offered  were  better  known.  The  textile  industry  of  the  state  alone 
would  profit  by  furnishing  to  the  chemical  engineering  course  as 
many  young  men  as  the  college  now  has  altogether.  One  textile 
manager  has  placed  and  is  maintaining  a  prospective  chemist  at  the 
college.  The  course  in  mechanical  engineering  is  comprehensive, 
dignified,  on  a  par  with  similar  courses  in  similar  institutions. 
Every  man  turned  out  represents  to  society  an  earning  capacity  of 
from  $40,000  to  $60,000.  The  department  is  setting  on  foot  a  test- 
ing station  to  which  manufacturers  may  appeal  for  tests  of  material 
and  equipment,  or  for  assistance  in  the  solution  of  technical  prob- 
lems. In  the  single  matter  of  fuel  tests,  immense  savings  may  be 
made.  It  means  much  whether  a  man  is  getting  15,000  B.  T.  U. 
or  12,000  B.  T.  U.  per  pound.  Similarly  with  lubricating  oils,  brick, 
stone,  cement,  concrete,  etc.  The  average  power  plant  is  continu- 
ously suffering  large  wastes  which  might  be  stopped  if  proper  tests 
were  made  that  they  might  be  located.  Especially  could  aid  in  this 
direction  be  rendered  in  public  power  plants. 

Further,  the  engineering  prestige  of  the  state  can  be  increased  by 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  57 

well-directed  investigations  along  various  channels  of  engineering 
departments  as  well  as  to  the  chemical  and  mechanical. 

Engineering. 

Such  is  the  actual  and  potential  value  of  the  institution 
to  the  state. 

Department  of  Home  Economics. 

The  work  for  women  in  the  home  economics  department  is  just 
beginning,  but  is  of  far-reaching  importance.  We  read  of  objections 
nowadays  to  co-education.  In  every  instance,  it  is  because  women 
are  being  educated  for  men's  work  and  not  for  their  own.  The  fun- 
damental differences  of  constitution,  temperament,  and  capabilities 
are  not  fully  recognized.  This  department  is  offering  a  practical 
solution  of  the  problem,  and  is  offering  to  our  women  scientific  pre- 
paration for  careers  of  dignity  and  high  remuneration,  a  proper  out- 
let for  the  highest  ambition,  while  at  the  same  time  it  is  reducing  a 
whole  domain  of  human  effort,  under  the  directive,  systematizing, 
economic  control  of  applied  science.  This  and  other  departments 
have  no  small  value  in  this  share  in  preparing  teachers  of  related 
subjects  for  the  schools  of  the  state. 

College  Extension. 

Such  is  the  value  of  the  direct  instructional  activities  of  the  col- 
lege. A  college,  however,  should  be  of  service  not  only  to  the  gen- 
eration just  coming  on  the  stage  of  action,  but  also  to  the  men  and 
women  now  actively  engaged  in  the  world's  work.  For  this  purpose, 
the  extension  department  was  organized.  Its  work  is  large  and  rap- 
idly increasing.  Its  service  is  of  great  value,  as  shown  not  only  by 
an  examination  of  its  work,  but  also  by  pubhc  acknowledgment  and 
commendation  of  its  vital  service. 

There  are  at  present  twenty-five  Nature  Guard  Bands,  which  have 
been  organized  in  the  schools  for  the  purpose  of  interesting  the  chil- 
dren in  nature  study.     A  four-page  leaflet  is  issued  each 

Nature  study. 

month  of  the  school  year  and  sent  to  these  bands,  to  a 
selected  mailing  list.  This  means  an  introduction  of  elementary 
agriculture  into  our  rural  schools. 

8 


58  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

School  gardens  were  carried  on  in  Providence  last  year,  in  co- 
operation with  the  Board  of  Agriculture  and  the  League  of  Improve- 
ment Societies^  and  this  year  the  gardens  will  again  be 

School  gardens. 

carried  on  in  Providence,  and  supervision  will  be  ex- 
tended to  other  parts  of  the  state  where  desired.  Home  gardening 
for  children  is  'also  encouraged.  The  department  has  given  and  is 
ready  to  give  advice  on  all  features  of  gardening. 

Each  year  a  list  of  extension  lectures  is  issued  and  sent  out  to 
granges  and  other  organizations.     These  lectures  are  by  members 

of  the  faculty  of  the  college,  and  all  of  them  are  free. 

Lectures. 

Thus  far,  this  year  the  department  has  received  thirty 
applications    for    extension    lectures.     The    Commission 
is  convinced  of  the  great  value  of  the  lectures  given  in  the  past. 

The  department  offers  to  outline  for  anyone  who  wishes  a  course 
of  study  on  any  agricultural  subject,  and  to  suggest  the  best  and 
Corres  ond-  ^ost  necessary  books  and  bulletins  which  should  be 
enceteac  "ng.  ^^^^^  -^  couuectiou  with  the  subject  chosen.  It  also  in- 
vites the  fullest  correspondence  from  those  who  take  up  the  reading 
work,  and  stands  ready  to  answer  questions  at  any  time.  At  the 
present  there  are  thirteen  to  whom  outlines  have  been  sent. 

Twenty-six  books  covering  agricultural  subjects  and  home  economics 

Traveiin  li-*    ^^^^  j^^t  been  purchased  for  the  purpose  of  starting  a 

braries.  traveling  library,  and  several  applications  for  this  library 

have  already  been  received.     It  is  planned  to  form  other  libraries. 

These  inspections  are  made  on  request,  whenever  time  permits,  to^ 

identify  injurious  insects  and  plant  diseases  and  suggest 

Inspections. 

methods  of  treatment;  to  examine  soils;  and  to  give 
advice  regarding  the  laying  out  of  farms,  etc.  Many  more  requests 
for  inspections  are  received  than  it  is  possible  for  the  superintendent 
to  attend  to. 

Correspondence  on  any  agricultural  subject  is  invited.  About  five 
Corres  ond-  thousaud  answcrs  go  out  from  this  office  each  year  in 
^"*^^'  reply  to  inquiries  and  other  business  connected  with  the 

work  of  the  college  and  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture. 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  59 

From  time  to  time  circulars  and  bulletins  are  issued  on  pertinent 
subjects.     A   bulletin   has   recently  been  issued,  in  co- 

Publications.  .  •1101  -n  i        r     a       •       1 

operation  with  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  on  the 
San  Jose  Scale  and  Methods  of  Treatment. 

The  farmer's  institute,  maintained  by  state  boards  of  agriculture, 
has  long  been  recognized  in  all  parts  of  the  country  as  a  vital  and 
Farmer's  in-  necessary  factor  for  the  improvement  of  rural  condi- 
stitute.  tions.     It  has  had  a  powerful  influence  in  bringing  about 

improved  methods  in  agriculture  and  the  betterment  of  country  life. 
It  has  helped  make  better  schools  and  homes.  The  part  the  college 
performs  in  this  direction  is  of  high  value  to  the  state.  By  its  own 
initiative  or  in  connection  with  the  state  department  of  agriculture 
and  other  agencies,  it  is  estimated  that  two  hundred  addresses  and 
lectures  are  annually  delivered  by  its  officers  and  instructors.  It  not 
only  seeks  the  improvement  of  rural  conditions,  but  has  gone  to  vil- 
lage and  city  to  promote  conservation  and  improvement  of  streets, 
parks,  and  homes,  by  teaching  the  care  and  planting  of  trees  and  the 
making  of  school,  home,  and  park  gardens. 

Experiment  Station. 
The  college  has  a  department  directly  organized  for  scientific 
discovery  and  its  application  to  agriculture.  This  is  the  experi- 
ment station,  which  in  its  income  and  expenditure  constitutes 
forty-one  per  cent,  of  the  whole  college.  It  is  recognized  as  having 
been  and  as  continuing  to  be  of  inestimable  benefit  to  the  state. 
Its  present  and  past  activities  are  indicated  by  the  following 
review  of  its  past  service.  At  the  outset  the  experiment  station  of 
the  college  published  several  bulletins  containing  infor- 

Bulletins. 

mation  of  general  value,  until  experiments  could  be 
properly  begun.  Among  these  were,  on6  on  the  manurial  value, 
digestibility,  and  economical  employment  of  feeding-stuffs  for  the 
various  classes  of  farm  animals;    bee-keeping,  milk  fever,  etc. 

Co-operative  experiments  were  conducted  as  early  as  1890  in  each 
Co-operative  county  in  the  state  and  they  have  been  continued  periodi- 
experiments.     gg^j^y  gi^ce  to  ascertain  the  soil  deficiencies  and  manurial 


60  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE, 

requirements  of  certain  important  crops.  In  the  course  of  this  work 
it  has  been  shown  that  a  more  universal  practice  of  top-dressing 
grass  land  would  be  highly  beneficial.  As  a  result  of  these  experi- 
ments it  was  shown  that  an  average  net  profit  of  over  twenty  per 
cent,  was  made  on  the  investment.  It  has  also  been  proven  by 
numerous  experiments  in  all  parts  of  the  state  that  one  of  the  first 
and  greatest  needs  of  many  of  the  soils  of  Rhode  Island  is  liming 
and  that  satisfactory  success  with  timothy,  clover,  beets. 

Liming. 

lettuce,  spinach,  cabbage,  cauliflower,  barley,  and  a  large 
list  of  other  agricultural  plants,  is  impossible  without  the  use  of 
lime  or  other  alkaline  manures.  Simple  chemical  methods  were  de- 
veloped for  discovering  such  needs.  The  influence  of  this  work  is 
now  being  felt  not  only  in  New  England,  but  also  in  practically  all 
of  the  states  of  the  Union  where  lime  deficiencies  exist ;  marked  ex- 
amples of  which  are  Ohio  and  Illinois,  where  the  crop  yields  are 
being  greatly  increased  by  liming. 

At  the  station  practically  every  kind  of  agricultural,  and  many 
flowering  plants  have  been  tested  as  to  their  need  of  lime.     As  a  re- 
sult it  has  been   found  that  where  the  cantaloupe  can- 
improved  '■ 

''^°^^'  not  be  grown  without  lime  the  water-melon  is  injured 

by  its  use.  Under  conditions  where  the  golden-wax  bean  is  greatly 
in  need  of  liming  the  lima  bean  thrives  well,  and  the  caster  bean  is 
injured.  Such  studies  enable  the  farmer  to  know  what  crops  need 
lime  and  which  ones  do  not.  Where  lettuce,  timothy,  and  clover 
plants  cannot  grow  at  all  without  liming,  the  cranberry  is  greatly 
injured  by  it. 

Experiments  extending  over  four  years  settled  definitely  under 

what  conditions  of  soil  and  manuring  potato  scab  would 

result  and  how  it  could  be  avoided.     This  work  has  been 

accepted  as  authoritative  not  only  in  this  country,  but  also  in  Europe. 

For  some  time  a  study  has  been  in  progress  to  determine  what  are 

the  limits  of  profit  as  concerns  the  amounts  of  nitrogen. 

Fertilizing.  . 

potash,  and  phosphoric  acid  used  per  acre  for  grass,     ihis 
work  will  tend  to  prevent  excessive  and  wasteful  manuring,  and 
shows  the  profit  under  definite  methods  of  soil  treatment. 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  61 

A  very  careful  study  has  been  made  to  find  out  in  how  far  soda 
can  be  substituted  for  potash  in  the  growth  of  plants.  As  a  result 
it  has  been  shown  that  it  may  be  highly  advantageous  for  certain 
crops  to  buy  nitrogen  in  nitrate  of  soda,  and  potash  as  kainit,  since  in 
^?tnfzTrs  '"^  these  forms  soda  is  secured  without  cost,  and  in  case  the 
supply  of  potash  runs  short,  soda  is  then  capable  of  doubling  or 
greatly  increasing  the  yield. 

Careful  experiments  have  been  conducted  for  many  years,  and  are 

still  in  progress,  to  determine  the  relative  value  of  the  different 

phosphatic    fertilizers   to   the   farmer.     These   are   now 

Comparative       ^  i 

fertilization,     ggj-yi^g  as  an  important  guide  to  the  purchasers  in  pro- 
tecting themselves  from  imposition  in  the  purchase  of  such  materials. 
There  are  in  progress  eight  different  rotations  of  crops  for  the  pur- 
X,  ,  ..      ,      pose  of  learning  what  are  the  most  efficient  ones  for  use  in 

Rotation  of         ■'^^  ° 

"°^^'  renovating  an  exhausted  soil,  and  maintaining  it  in  a  high 

state  of  fertility.     All  of  the  details  of  these  rotations  are  published 
so  that  any  one  may  follow  the  same  system  of  manuring  and  rota- 
ting.    An  experiment  is  in  progress  to  ascertain  the  relative  value 
of  winter  rye  and  clover  sown  in  Indian  corn  at  the  last 

Clover.  .  ... 

cultivation.  The  benefit  from  employmg  clover  m  this 
way  has  been  shown  to  be  so  great  that  the  same  plan  is  being  fol- 
lowed elsewhere.     The   institution   is   making  a  study  of  different 

grass  mixtures   for  lawn   purposes,   and  is  ascertaining 

Lawn  grasses. 

the  best  kinds  of  manure  to  apply. 

Experiments  at  the  college  station  have  shown  that  the  "black- 
head" disease  of  the  turkey  may  be  communicated  or  acquired  by 
The "  black-  ordinary  fowl  and  other  birds,  and  that  one  of  the  most 
^^^'^"  important  features  in  the  rearing  of  turkeys  is  to  keep 

them  as  remote  as  possible  from  the  hen-yards.  New  light  has  also 
been  shed  on  the  nature  of  the  organism  which  causes  the  disease, 
which  is  an  important  and  necessary  step  toward  learning  how  the 
disease  may  be  controlled. 

Experiments  in  the  rearing  of  chickens  have  shown  the  importance 
of  the  use  of  generous  additions  to  certain  rations  of 

Chickens. 

mineral  matter. 


62  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

It  has  been  shown  that  under  soil  conditions  that  exist  in  the  state 
Efficient  fer-  ^^®  efficiency  of  certain  fertilizers  may  be  reduced  one- 
ti  izers.  |^^j£  ^^  even  more,  unless  steps  are  taken  to  put  it  in  a 

condition  favorable  to  nitrification.  The  steps  to  be  taken  have  been 
published  in  the  bulletins.  These  and  many  other  lines  of  work 
Seaweed  as  a  ^^^^  been  in  progress.  A  careful  chemical  study  of  all  of 
the  more  prominent  seaweeds  found  on  the  coast  of  Rhode 
Island  has  been  made  so  that  the  users  may  know  their  actual  and 
relative  value  as  manures.  This  bulletin  has  been  referred  to  by 
the  chief  chemist  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 
as  the  most  complete  and  valuable  paper  on  the  manurial  value  of 
seaweeds  which  was  ever  published. 

As  a  police  and  educational  measure  the  experiment  station  of 

the  college  is  conducting  the  feeding-stuff  and  fertilizer  inspection, 

and  not  only  uses  its  bulletins  and  influence  to  maintain 

Inspection  of  i        i      i    •  i    p  i  •    i 

feeding-stuffs    the  Standard  claimed  for  the  commercial  goods,  but  has 

and  fertilizers. 

published  much  valuable  information  concerning  the  eco- 
nomical use  of  both. 

The  evidence  is  now  increasing  rapidly  of  an  awakened  interest 
in  all  these  questions  which  the  experiment  department  has  studied, 
Value  a  r  -  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  results  are  serving  their  purpose  to  a  contin- 
"'^^^  ■  ually  increasing  extent;    being   applied   practically   on 

the  farms  of  the  state.  This  is  shown  by  the  many  thousands  of 
letters  sent  to  the  station  annually  for  advice,  and  further  informa- 
tion supplementary  to  that  contained  in  the  bulletins.  In  this  con- 
nection soils  are  being  continually  tested  in  large  numbers,  and  sug- 
gestions as  to  fertilizer  treatment,  based  upon  the  experiments  con- 
ducted by  the  station,  are  also  being  sent  out  daily,  in  response  to 
applications. 

VII.  NEEDS  AND  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  THE  COLLEGE. 

Though  recognizing  conditions  not  entirely  satisfactory,  though  per- 
ceiving obstacles  in  the  way  of  its  progress,  and  though  acknowledg- 
ing difficulty  in  pointing  out  its  true  course  for  the  future,  the  Com- 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF   INQUIRY.  63 

mission  finds  no  substantial  reasons  why  the  people  of  Rhode  Island 
should  be  discouraged  by  the  prospects  of  their  state  college.  The 
problem,  though  perplexing,  is  susceptible  of  solution.  At  present 
Need  of  ri  ht  ^^^  greatest  need  is  the  public's  right  understanding  of 
understanding.  -^^  conditions.  A  full  knowledge  of  its  aims  and  work, 
with  a  true  appraisal  of  its  value,  on  the  part  of  the  public,  will  dis- 
close its  real  opportunities  and  lead  to  adequate  support  and  wise 
direction. 

All  its  needs  may  not  be  supplied  nor  all  its  benefits  realized  at 
once.  Radical  change  or  revolution  is  neither  necessary  nor  de- 
Method  of  so-  sirable.  Gradually  to  strengthen  weak  parts,  to  rectify 
lution.  wrong  practice,  to  remedy  poor  conditions,  and  to  supply 

more  pressing  needs  are  within  the  means  and  power  of  the  state, 
and  will  easily  and  successfully  effect  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the 
problem.  While  it  neither  expects  nor  recommends  attempts  im- 
mediately to  provide  for  all  the  wants  of  the  college,  the  Commission 
submits  a  statement  of  the  needs  of  the  college,  designed  to  show 
what  must  be  done  to  secure  desired  improvement  and  to  insure  to 
the  public  expected  benefits. 

Needs  of  the  College. 

I.  For  the  working  out  of  a  permanent  plan  of  development 
and  for  ultimate  economy  in  cost  both  for  such  development  and  for 
daily  administration,  there  will  be  needed  the  following  buildings: 

1.  A  library  building. 

2.  A  building  to  house  properly  the  scientific  departments  now 

found  in  mere  barracks. 

3.  A  properly  equipped  armory  and  gymnasium.     This  will  be 

an  important  addition  to  the  equipment  and  will  make 
it  possible  to  devote  the  whole  of  the  present  Lippitt  Hall 
to  engineering  purposes. 

4.  An  auditorium  and  administration  building. 

5.  A  small  dairy  building. 


64  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

6.  An  enlargement  of  the  power  and  heating  system,  with  the 

addition  of  an  experimental  engineering  laboratory. 

7.  Additions  and  improvements  in  the  poultry  plant. 

II.  Further,  there  is  need,  (!)  of  a  relatively  small  sum  of  money 
sufficient  to  make  of  the  grounds  a  park  attractive  to  the  eye  and  in 
keeping  with  the  natural  beauty  of  the  location;  (2)  of  a  like  sum 
to  supplement  the  equipment  of  departments  whose  present  equip- 
ment has  been  previously  criticised. 

III.  The  college  must  in  some  way  connect  itself  more  satisfac- 
torily and  conveniently  with  the  railway.  This  private  enterprise 
will  undoubtedly  undertake  as  soon  as  other  changes  are  made. 

Though  at  first  perplexed  by  the  contradictions  of  public  opinion 
regarding  the  college,  the  Commission  has  gradually  come  into  a 
clearer  and  more  definite  view  of  its  opportunities  and  has  experi- 
enced a  growing  confidence  in  its  possibilities.  In  its  recommenda- 
tions it  offers  expression  of  such  judgments.  It  believes  that  the 
college  is  already  passing  from  its  experimental  period  and  is  finding 
its  true  place  and  service.  Strong  in  public  confidence,  true  to  the 
purpose  of  its  founding,  and  sustained  alike  by  state 

Prospects. 

and  national  support,  the  future  of  the  college  will  be 
secure.  Near  the  close  of  its  work,  the  Commission  finds  many  rea- 
sons for  assuring  the  public  of  bright  prospects  and  large  possibilities 
for  the  college. 

The  Commission  hopes  that,  in  its  recommendations,  it  has  sug- 
gested ways  for  improvement.  Some  of  these  suggestions  may  be 
followed  without  increase  of  expense.  Night  classes  in  industrial 
centers,  summer  sessions,  closer  relation  with  high  schools,  and  ex- 
tension of  lecture  system  are  opportunities  for  larger  service.  It 
may  soon,  without  difficulty,  establish  standards  of  scholarship 
parallel  with  the  usual  standards  of  American  colleges,  and  thereby 
secure  greater  public  respect  and  confidence.  It  may  enlarge  its 
service  of  giving  the  results  of  farm  experimentation  to  farmers  and 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF    INQUIRY.  65 

of  its  laboratory  analyses  to  manufacturers.     It  may  secure  longer 
terms  of  service  and  greater  efficiency  among  its  instruc- 

Opportunities. 

tors.  The  growmg  number  and  worthy  character  of  its 
students  make  possible  more  efficient  instruction,  higher  aims,  and 
a  truer  college  spirit.  More  and  better  adapted  buildings,  more  and 
better  equipment  and  more  land  will  be  necessary,  but  each  new 
need  points  to  new  opportunity. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Commission,  a  valuable  opportunity  is 
presented  in  connection  with  the  instruction  now  given  in  military 
tactics,  as  required  by  national  law.  Such  instruction  might  be 
elevated  to  a  department,  ranking  with  other  departments  and  be- 
Miiitar  col-  comiug  in  effect  the  military  college  of  the  state.  A 
^^^'  company  might  be  formed  from  enlisted  students  and 

affiliated  with  the  Rhode  Island  National  Guard.  Besides  the  advan- 
tage received  by  the  students  from  military  training,  it  is  believed 
that  the  college  might  render  an  important  service  in  strengthening 
the  military  arm  of  the  State.     In  addition,  as  experience  has  shown 

in  other  institutions,  the  training  of  officers  would  open  to 

Advantages. 

our  young  men  the  opportunity  of  honorable  service  in  the 
military  profession.  The  Commission  has  consulted,  among  others, 
the  instructor  of  military  tactics  at  the  college,  and  an  officer  of  the 
National  Guard,  who  endorse  the  practicability  of  the  proposition,  as 
is  shown  in  the  following  words  of  the  latter:  "In  my  opinion,  it  is 
practicable,  and  as  it  would  add  to  the  efficiency  of  the  Rhode  Island 
National  Guard,  is  desirable,  to  utilize  the  instruction  in  the  military 
art  now  given  at  the  college  at  Kingston,  by  the  formation  there 
of  an  organization  for  state  service.  I  understand  that  certain 
organizations  of  the  Vermont  National  Guard,  to  wit,  a  section  of 
light  artillery,  and  a  company  of  the  signal  corps,  are  composed  of 
students  at  the  Norwich  University,  duly  comrriissioned  or  enlisted 
in  said  national  guard.  For  this  state,  I  would  recommend  a  com- 
pany of  engineers,  the  technical  training  of  which  requires  a  higher 
degree  of  educational  qualification  than  is  necessary  in  other  arms 
of  the  service.     Such  a  company  would  consist  of  sixty-six  officers 


66  RHODE   ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

and  men,  who  must  be  citizens  of  the  United  States,  of  sufficient 
good  physique  to  pass  the  examination  prescribed  by  the  state  mih- 
tary  authorities  in  conformity  with  rules  laid  down  by  the  War  De- 
partment and  be  duly  commissioned,  or  enlisted  for  three  years,  in 
the  state  service." 

The  future  value  of  the  college  is  dependent  on  public  knowledge 
and  confidence.  Everything  necessary  should  be  done  to  deserve 
and  insure  an  intelligent  faith  of  our  people  in  its  integrity  and  ser- 
vice. To  acquaint  the  public  with  its  real  and  potential  worth,  as 
well  as  to  increase  its  efficiency,  is  to  enlarge  its  opportunities.  Once 
established  in  public  confidence,  the  college  will  enter  a  new  period 
of  prosperity.  Hundreds,  in  the  future,  in  place  of  scores,  in  the 
past,  of  students  will  profit  by  its  instruction;  and  Rhode  Island  will 
share  more  abundantly  in  the  progress  of  agricultural  and  mechanical 
education.  The  state  will  not  nurture  a  weak  institution,  but  will 
have  the  benefits  of  a  strong  one. 

VIII.     RECOMMENDATIONS. 

In  conclusion,  the  Commission  finds  that,  in  accord  with  the  pur- 
pose of  its  founding,  the  true  function  of  the  college  is  to  provide 
free  collegiate  education  for  our  youth  of  all  classes,  and  that,  in 
union  of  vocational  and  cultural  education,  its  grand  aim  is  to  educate 
broadly  for  American  citizenship.  With  this  aim  in  view,  the  Com- 
mission respectfully  submits,  as  ways  or  means  of  increasing  the 
value  of  the  college,  the  following  recommendations,  which  it  has 
adopted  after  mature  deliberation. 

1.  That  the  name  of  the  college  be  changed  to  Rhode  Island 
State  College. 

2.  That  the  college  be  required  by  law  to  maintain  the  standard 
set  by  the  Carnegie  Foundation. 

3.  That  the  governing  board  include  in  its  membership  repre- 
sentatives of  public  education,  agriculture  and  manufacturing. 


REPORT    OF    COMMISSION    OF   INQUIRY.  67 

4.  That  to  secure  the  advantages  of  a  more  permanent  facility 
of  instruction,  efforts  be  directed  to  insure  longer  terms  of  service  to 
its  members. 

5.  That  the  managing  board  appoint  official  visitors,  who  shall 
report  annually  to  the  board. 

6.  That  tuition  be  free  to  all  students. 

7.  That  the  extension  department  be  enlarged  and  strengthened, 
so  that  the  benefits  of  the  college  may  be  more  widely  and  effect- 
ively applied,  through  correspondence,  home  courses  and  lectures,  to 
farming  and  manufacturing  interests  and  to  country  and  village 
life. 

8.  That  the  experiment  station,  in  practice  as  it  is  in  law,  be  more 
closely  affiliated  with  the  college  as  a  department,  to  secure  greater 
unity  of  effort. 

9.  That  the  college  maintain  evening  schools,  for  industrial  train- 
ing, in  manufacturing  centers,  so  far  as  its  means  allow. 

10.  That  it  offer  to  teachers  summer  courses  in  elementary  agri- 
culture and  domestic  arts. 

11.  That  the  instruction  now  given  in  military  science  and  art 
be  expanded  and  organized  as  a  collegiate  department  for  efficient 
military  training  of  high  rank.  That  measures  be  taken  to  organize 
a  company  of  engineers  from  enlisted  students,  to  be  affiliated  with 
the  Rhode  Island  National  Guard. 

12.  That  the  college  be  recognized  as  an  integral  part  of  the  edu- 
cational system  of  the  state  and  that  action  be  taken  to  bring  it 
into  closer  relation  with  the  high  schools  of  the  state. 

13.  That,  to  meet  the  apparent  needs  of  the  college,  the  follow- 
ing buildings  be  erected  as  soon  as  means  are  available:  (1)  science; 
(2)  library;    (3)  auditorium;    (4)  gymnasium  and  drill  hall. 

14.  That,  as  favorable  opportunity  may  offer,  more  land  be  se- 
cured to  meet  the  future  agricultural  needs  of  the  college,  especially 
in  experimental  farming. 


68  RHODE    ISLAND    COLLEGE. 

■  15.  That,  in  making  its  annual  appropriations  for  the  college, 
the  state  not  only  have  regard  for  judicious  expenditure  and  its 
financial  resources,  but  also,  in  keeping  with  its  dignity  and  honor 
it  give  due  consideration  to  its  obligations,  assumed  for  the  support 
and  management  of  the  institution  in  its  compact  with  the  national 
government. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

WALTER  E.  RANGER,  ex-officio, 
JAMES  E.  SULLIVAN, 
CHARLES  H.  WARD, 
GEORGE  F.  WESTON, 
H.  J.  CARTIER. 

Providence,  April  16,  1909. 


OUTLINE   OF   REPORT 


Resolution 2 

I.     Introduction 3 

Function  of  Commission,  3;  Change  in  Commission,  4;  Organization  of 
Commission,  4;  Its  work  smnmarized,  4;  Its  aim,  5;  Its  plan  of 
work,  5. 

II.  National  System  of  Colleges 7 

Summary  of    Grants:     Morrill  Act  of  1862,  7;    Hatch  Act  of  1887,    8; 

Morrill  Act  of  1890,  8;  Adams  Act  of  1906,  8;  Nelson  Amendment  of 

1907,  8. 
Purpose  of  Grants:     Purposes  of  grants  very  broad,  9;  Liberal  education, 

9;    Not  agricultural  schools,   9;    Not  to  displace   classical  colleges, 

9;  To  stimulate  state  support,  10. 
Federal  Aid  to  National  Colleges:     Total  federal  aid,  10;  Table  I,  Federal 

Aid,  11. 
Development  and  Present  Numbers:      Types  of  colleges,  11;  Influence  of 

federal   aid,    12;   Growth,    12;   Table    II,    Growth   and   Support,   12; 

Number   of  Colleges,  13;   Enrollment   and   income,  13;   Enrollment 

compared,  13;  Public  support  of  collegiate  education,  14;  Vocational 

and  cultural  elements,  14. 
Place  of  the  Rhode  Island  College:     In  Process  of  Development,  14. 

III.  Results  of  Commission's  Examination 15 

Purpose  of  Founding:     Free  collegiate  education,  15. 

Development  of  the  College:     Founding,  15;   Chartered  as  a  college,  16; 

Growth,  16;  Present  position,  16. 
Relation  to  State  and  Nation:     Federal  aid  and  state  support,  17;  Table 

III,  State  and  National  Support,  17;   State  gives   less  than  United 

States,  18;  Less  than  other  states,  18;  Backward  tendency,  18;  A  state 

institution,  19. 


70  OUTLINE    OF    REPORT. 

Buildings  and  Grounds:  Equipment  of  other  colleges,  20;  A  serious 
handicap,  20;  Makeshifts,  20;  Buildings  too  small,  21;  Appropriation 
insufficient,  21 ;  A  definite  plan  needed,  22. 
\  Equipment:  Quarters  for  apparatus,  22;  Equipment  inadequate,  23; 
Physics  and  chemistry,  23;  Engineering  courses,  23;  Equipment 
insufficient,  23. 

Instruction:     Salaries,  24;  Terms  of  service,  24 ;  Importance  of  faculty,  24. 

Finances:  Story  of  the  Land-Grant  Fund  in  Rhode  Island:  Land-grant 
accepted  by  the  state,  25;  Brown  University  the  beneficiary,  26; 
Lands  partially  located,  26;  Committee  authorized  to  dispose  of 
lands,  26;  Land  and  scrip  sold,  27;  Low  price,  27;  Agricultural  depart- 
ment at  Brown  University,  27;  Agricultural  School  and  Experiment 
Station  established  at  Kingston,  28;  Disposal  of  national  funds,  28; 
Agreement  between  the  state  and  Brown  University,  28 ;  Resources  of 
the  college,  29;  Income  for  1908-1909,  30. 

The  Experiment  Station,  30. 

IV.     Public  Criticisms  Considered 31 

Is  the  College  needed?  State  pledged  to  support  college,  31;  Work  not 
done  by  other  agencies,  32 ;  Table  IV,  Students  in  Higher  Education, 
32. 

Cost  per  Capita :  Comparative  statistics  unsatisfactory,  33 ;  Basis  of  com- 
parison, 33;  No  other  endowment,  33;  Table  V,  Endowment  Funds,  34; 
Table  VI,  Cost  per  Capita,  34 ;  Comparison  with  other  colleges,  35;  Cost 
on  total  income,  35;  Cost  of  courses,  35;  Temporary  condition,  35. 

"College  Isolated":     College  not  inaccessible,  36;  Many  advantages,  36. 

Number  of  Students  per  Teacher:  Condensation  often  undesirable,  37; 
Condition  temporary,  37;  Table  VII,  Students  per  Teacher,  38;  Small 
classes  necessary,  38;  Summer  school,  38;  Not  behind,  38. 

Number  of  Agricultural  Students :  Not  purely  agricultural,  39 ;  To  develop 
citizenship,  40;  Agricultural  interest,  40;  Increase  in  agricultural 
students,  41;  Growth  in  four-year  courses,  41. 

"Not  Able  to  Furnish  Managers  for  Farms":  College  no  waiting  list,  41; 
Salary  insufficient,  42 ;  Influential  positions  held  by  graduates,  42. 

"  No  Abandoned  Farm  Reclaimed  " :  College  farm  an  abandoned  farm,  42 ; 
Value  of  crops  greatly  increased,  43. 

"College  Officials  Ignorant  of  Agriculture":  Assertion  unfounded,  43; 
Opinion  of  Chancellor  Chase,  43. 


OUTLINE    OF    REPORT.  71 

Publicity  of  Accounts:     Books  open  to  public,  44. 

State  Appropriations:     State  support  less  than  national  aid,  44. 

V.     Proposed  Changes  Considered 45 

Removal  of  Mechanic  Arts  Department:  Is  removal  practicable?  45; 
Advantage  of  removal,  46;  Disadvantages  of  removal,  46;  Lack  of 
funds  for  two  institutions,  46;  End  sought  in  removal,  47. 

Proposed  Elimination  of  Courses  of  Instruction:  Branch  of  the  college,  48; 
Elimination  impracticable,  48. 

Proposed  Reduction  to  an  Agricultural  High  School:     End  sought,  48. 

Proposed  Tuition  Charges:    Unwise  suggestions,  49;  Interstate  comity,  49. 

VI.  Value  of  the  National  Colleges 49 

Opinions  of  Educators  on  the  Value  of  the  National  Colleges :  Influence  of 
Morrill  Act  on  higher  education,  49 ;  An  aid  to  industries,  50 ;  Function 
and  value  of  the  national  colleges,  50 ;  Cause  of  success,  51 ;  Furnish 
ideal  education,  51 ;  New  idea  of  education,  51 ;  Great  assistance  to  the 
farmers,  51 ;  Improvement  of  rural  conditions,  52. 

Value  of  the  Rhode  Island  College :  Educational  values,  52 ;  Comparative 
values,  52;  Higher  standard,  53;  Misjudgments,  53;  True  aim,  53; 
Education  for  culture,  53;  Free  collegiate  instruction,  54;  Industrial 
education,  54;  Members,  55. 

Agricultural  department:  Poultry,  55;  Dairying,  55;  Sheep  raising,  55; 
Horticulture,  56. 

Mechanic  arts:    Engineering,  56. 

Home  economics,  57. 

College  extension:  Nature  study,  57;  School  gardens,  58;  Lectures,  58; 
Correspondence  teaching,  58;  Traveling  library,  58;  Inspection,  58; 
Correspondence,  58;  Publications,  59;  Farmer's  institute,  59. 

Experiment  station:  Bulletins,  59;  Co-operative  experiments,  59;  Liming, 
60;  Improved  crops,  60;  Potato  scab,  60;  Fertihzing,  60;  Economy  in 
fertilizers,  61;  Comparative  fertilization,  61;  Rotation  of  crops,  61; 
Clover,  61;  Lawn  grasses,  61;  The  "blackhead",  61;  Chickens,  61; 
Efficient  fertilizers,  62;  Seaweed  as  a  fertilizer,  62;  Inspection  of 
feeding-stuffs  and  fertilizers,  62;   Value  appreciated,  62. 

VII.  Needs  and  Opportunities  of  the  College 62 

Need  of  right  understanding,  63;  Method  of  solution,  63;  Needs  of  the 

college,  63. 
Prospects,  64;  Opportiviuities,  65;  Military  college,  65;  Advantages,  65, 


72  OUTLINE    OF    REPORT. 


VIIl.     Recommendations 66 


t 


Name;  Standard;  Representation  in  governing  board;  Faculty  of  instruc- 
tion; Experimental   department;   Evening  schools;  Summer  school;  J 
Military  training;   Affiliation   with   public   school   system;   Buildings                       ' 
recommended;  More  land  for  future  needs;  State  dignity  and  appro- 
priations. 


woZ.  ACTS   OF   CONGRESS        ^VAY5«191b 


TO   PROMOTE 


i^ricultural  and  lechanical  Education, 


The   Results  in    Rhode  Island   and  the  Situation 

To-day. 


Congress  has  passed  three  Acts  to  aid  the  States  in  educating  the  indus- 
trial classes  : 

The  Land  grant  act  of  1862, 

The  Hatch  act  of  1887, 

The  Morrill  bill  of  1890. 

The  Land  grant  act  gave  to  each  State  30,000  acres  of  the  public  lands 
•for  each  Senator  and  Representative  in  Congress.  The  land  was  to  be 
sold  by  the  States,  the  proceeds  arising  from  the  sale  invested,  and  the 
<annual  income  derived  therefrom  was  "to  be  inviolably  appropi-iated  by 
each  State  which  may  take  and  claim  the  benefit  of  this  act,  to  the  endow- 
ment, support  and  maintenance  of  at  least  one  college  where  the  leading 
object  shall  be,  without  excluding  other  scientific'  and  classical  studies, 
-and  including  military  tactics,  to  teach  such  branches  of  learning  as  are 
related  to  Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic  Arts,  in  such  manner  as  the 
Legislatures  of  the  States  may  respectfully  prescribe,  in  order  to  promote 
the  liberal  and  practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several 
ipursuits  and  professions  in  life.'.' 

The  Hatch  act  is  the  act  that  establishes  Experiment  stations.  They 
must  be  established  in  connection  with  the  colleges  that  were  created 
under  the  land  grant  act  of  1862,  or  in  connection  with  State  agricultural 
schools,  and,  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  them,  the  act  appropriates 
•annually  to  each  State  the  sum  of  $15,000.  The  Rhode  Island  State 
Experiment  Station  is  at  Kingston  in  connection  with  the  State  Agricul- 
tural School.  For  the  purposes  of  this  act  the  State  of  Rhode  Island 
receives  just  as  much  money  as  the  great  state  of  New  York  or  Texas. 
The  experiment  stations  are  not  established  for  giving  instruction,  but  for 
the  purpose  of  conducting  experiments  and  solving  problems  for  the  bene- 
fit of  agriculture.  This  State  has  already  received  $60,000  under  the 
Hatch  act.  Alongside  of  the  Agricultural  Colleges  the  Experiment  Sta- 
tion is  to  be  a  great  object  lesson. 

The  Morrill  bill  appropriates  $15,000  for  1890,  $16,000  for  1391, 
$17,000  for  1892,  and  so  on,  increasing  each  year  by  $1,000  until  it 
reaches  $25,000,  when  it  becomes  an  annual  appropriation  of  that 
amount. 

The  money  is  to  be  used  for  the  further  endowment  of  the  Land  Grant 
Colleges  already  established  under  the  act  of  1862,  to  which  it  is  a  supple- 
mentary act,  or  for  the  endowment  of  colleges  that  may  hereafter  be  es- 
tablished under  the  1862  act. 

This  last  fund  has  not  yet  been  appropriated  by  the  state,  the  legislative 
assent  not  yet -liaving  been  given. 

The  state  of  Rhode  Island,  in  1863,  instead  of  establishing  a  college  to 
carry  out  the  purposes  of  the  land  grant  act,  turned  the  land  scrip  over  to 
»the  corporation  of  P)rown  University. 


States  and  they  are  retaining  the  maximum  fertility  of  the  soil.  There  is 
no  subject  to  our  people  of  profouncler  concern  or  of  more  far-reaching 
importance." 

Hon.  Justin  S.  Morrill,  author  of  the  Land  Grand  act  and  Morrill  bill. 

"•  The  institution  shall  be  a  Jiigh  seminary  of  learning  in  which  the 
graduates  of  the  common  schools,  of  both  sexes,  can  commence,  pui'sue, 
and  iinish  a  course  of  study,  terminating  in  thorough  theoretical  and  prac- 
tical instruction  in  those  sciences  and  arts  which  bear  directly  upon  agri- 
culture and  kindred  industrial  pursuits." 

From  Sec.  13  of  the  law  of  the   State  Agricultural  College   at  Colorado. 

"  This  institution  shall  be  a  high  seminary  of  learning  in  which  the 
graduate  of  the  common  schools  can  commence,  pursue  and  finish  a  course 
of  study  terminating  in  thorough  theoretic  and  practical  instruction  in 
those  sciences  and  arts  which  bear  directly  upon  agriculture  and  kindred 
industrial  pursuits." 

From  Sec.  49<S8,  Constitution  Michigan  Agricultural  College. 

'■'■  Despite  all  the  advantages  offered,  liowever,  this  department  is  not  now 
and  never  has  been  what  was  contemplated  or  is  more  desired  by  either 
the  legislature  or  the  agricultural  class.  The  Agricultural  College  as  a 
department  of  the  University,  is  so  overshadowed  by  the  other  depart- 
ments, that  the  attendance  has  always  been  nominal,  and  the  benefits 
derived  very  meagre  aside  from  the  v/ork  accomplished  at  the  government 
experiment  station.  We  do  not  believe  the  ends  sought  by  the  creation 
of  the  Agricultural  College  can  ever  be  accomplished  so  long  as  it  remains 
a  department  of  the  University  under  the  present  plan,  and  recommend 
that  it  be  separated  therefrom  and  made  an  independent  institution." 

From  report  of  a  committee  appointed  to  investigate  the  condition  of  the 
Agricultural  College  connected  with  the  University  at  Columbus  in  Mis- 
souri. 

"  Now,  I  think  it  appears,  from  the  authorities  hereinafter  cited,  that 
the  State  University,  with  all  its  departments,  is  subject  to  the  direction 
and  control  of  the  Legislature  ;  that  the  Legislature  has  the  authority  to 
change  the  location  of  the  University  or  of  any  of  its  departments,  and  that 
one  General  Assembly  cannot  deprive  a  subsequent  General'Assembly  of 
this  authority." 

From  the  opinion  of  the  Attorney  General  of  Missouri. 

The  institution  at  Kingston  is  capable  of  carrying  out  in  eveiy  way  the 
1862  Land  Grant  Act  and  the  new  Morrill  bill  of  1890.''' 

John  H.  Washburn,  Ph.  D., 

Principal  State  Agricultural  School. 

"A  University  in  the  heart  of  a  city  does  not  seem  to  be  exactly  an 
appropriate  location  for  an  Agricultural  School."^ — Providence  Journal. 

There  are  over  one  hundred  agricultural  schools  and  experiment  sta- 
tions in  Germany,  and  over  one  hundred  other  schools  teaching  specialties 
in  connection  with  agriculture. 

By  the  constitutions  o^  thirteen  States  no  public  money  can  be  appropri- 
ated for  the  support  of  any  sectarian  school. 

By  fhe  constitutions  o?  fourteen  States  no  money  can  ever  be  taken  from 
the  public  treasury  in  aid  of  any  church,  sect  or  sectarian  institution. 

In  four  States  no  public  money  can  be  appropriated  for  any  school  not 
under  exclusive  control  of  the  State  or  its  school  department. 

The  three  above  extracts  from  article  of  Chas.  D.  Corning  in  N.  Y, 
Independent. 


^^-^^  ;V1AY5-1919 

^^^C^.     ^-^  -.  College 


THE    NEW  MORRILL  LAND    GRANT    FUND 
FOR    EDUCATION, 


HOW   OUGHT    RHODE    ISLAND    TO    DISPOSE  OF  HER 

SHARE  ? 

In  what  follows,  an  effort  is  made  to  discuss  the  above  question 
strictly  in  the  spirit  of  a  Rhode  Island  citizen,  with  a  sincere  desire 
to  find  out  what  is  best  for  the  people  of  the  entire  State. 

The  nature  of  the  new  Morrill  grant  will  be  best  understood  by  a 
glance  back  at  the  original  enactment. 

The  Morrill  Educational  Land  Grant  of  1862. 

On  July  2,  1862,  President  Lincoln  put  his  signature  to  an  act 
which  had  just  passed  Congress,  donating  public  land  to  the  several 
States  and  Territories  which  might  provide  colleges  for  instruction 
in  branches  of  learning  bearing  on  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts.  By  this  act  every  State  became  entitled  to  30,000  acres  of 
government  land  for  each  senator  and  representative  falling  to  it  by 
the  apportionment  under  the  census  of  I860.  States  containing  no 
United  States  land  received  land  scrip,  entitling  them,  not  directly  but 
through  their  assignees,  to  locate  and  sell  the  amounts  of  land  re- 
spectively due  them.  Scrip  for  120,000  acres  came  to  Rhode 
Island,  and  this  the  General  Assembly  at  its  January  Session,  1863, 
by  "  a  perpetual  agreement,"  did  "transfer,  assign  and  set  over  to 
the  Corporation  of  Brown  University."  The  agreement  bound  the 
University  "to  educate  scholars  [from  Rhode  Island],  each  at  the 
rate  of  $100  per  annum,  to  the  extent  of  the  entire  annual  income" 
from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  scrip  or  land.  The  amount  per 
scholar  was  subsequently  reduced  to  $75,  thus  increasing  the  num- 
ber of  the  youth  who  might  receive  tlie  aid. 

The  Corporation  was  also,  at  its  own  expense,  to  sell  the  scrip  or 
locate  and  sell  the  land,  as  well  as  to  pay  any  and  all  taxes  upon  scrip, 
land  or  the  proceeds  of  either,  and  to  guarantee  forever  not  only  the 
integrity  of  the  fund  arising  from  the  sale,  but  also  interest  on  the 
same  at  the  rate  of  at  least  five  per  cent,  per  annum. 


Brown  University  took  the  scrip,  and,  at  its  own  expense,  which 
was  about  $4,000,  and  has  never  been  paid  back,  began  locating  the 
land.  Owing  to  the  Indian  hostilities  in  the  West,  and  to  the  pros- 
pect of  litigation  over  titles,  sale  was  effected  before  location  was 
complete,  being  therefore  a  sale  partly  of  land  and  partly  of  scrip. 
The  price  realized  for  both  was  $50,000  ;  too  little,  being  about  ten 
cents  per  acre  below  what  most  of  the  States  which  sold  early  obtained. 
The  civil  war  was  now  raging,  and  few  if  any  foresaw  the  decided 
rise  ultimately  to  come  in  western  land  values.     [See  Appendix  I,  6.] 

Brown  University  also  bound  itself  in  receiving  this  land  to  pro- 
vide a  department  the  leading  object  whereof  should  be,  without  ex- 
cluding other  scientific  or  classical  studies,  to  "  teach  such  branches 
of  learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts." 

These,  then,  were  the  main  points  in  the  Corporation's  agreement 
•with  the  State : 

1.  To  provide  for  all  its  students  desiring  this,  instruction  in  the 
bi'anches  of  learning  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts. 

2.  To  render  this  and  all  its  other  facilities  as  nearly  free  as 
possible  to  thirty  or  forty  Rhode  Island  students  at  a  time. 

3.  Perpetually  pledging  for  this  purpose  a  sum  equal  at  least  to 
5  per  cent,  of  the  $50,000  for  Avhich  the  land  sold,  while  keeping 
this  sum  forever  intact. 

Not  less  than  200  young  Rhode  Islanders  have  received  the  benefit 
of  this  arrangement,  among  them  many  of  whom  the  State  and  col- 
lege alike  may  well  be  proud. 

All  these  conditions  have  been  faithfully  met  by  the  University. 
At  once  after  the  land  was  sold  it  began  giving  instruction  in  agri- 
culture, and  it  has  continued  this  ever  since.  Moreover,  what  has 
perhaps  not  been  done  by  any  other  of  the  institutions  enjoying  this 
land  grant.  Brown  University  has  requh-ed  every  incumbent  of  a 
State  land  grant  scholarship  to  receive  instruction  in  agriculture. 
[See  Appendix  II.]  Other  "  branches  of  learning  related  to  agricul- 
ture "  were  also  soon  introduced  or  the  instruction  in  them  greatly 
strengthened,  and  all  these  have  in  the  years  since  then  received 
steadily  increasing  attention.  Botany,  Zoology,  and  Agricultural 
Chemistry  are  here  mainly  referred  to,  and  it  is  to  be  said  that  each 
of  them  has  been  taught  with  more  or  less  direct  reference  to  the 
responsibilities  of  the  University  toward  the  State.  The  departments 
of  Botany  and  Zoology  were  created  in  large  part  in  view  of  such 
responsibility. 


We  must  now  call  attention  to  a  very  widespread  but  totally 
groundless  misconception  as  to  the  purpose  of  this  government 
bounty. 

It  is  a  very   great  error  to  suppose  that  the  grant  was 

SOLELY  or  even  PRIMARILY  INTENDED  TO  INCREASE  THE  KNOWLEDGE 
OF  AGRICULTURE,  OR  TO  FURTHER  EDUCATION  OF  ANY  SORT  AMONG 
THE  AGRICULTURAL    POPULATION    IN    PARTICULAR. 

This  entirely  mistaken  view  is  understood  to  have  sprung  from 
the  label  or  title  which  the  government  printer  [entirely  without 
authority]  gave  to  the  law  of  1862,  dubbing  it  "  the  agricultural 
grant,"  or  something  of  that  sort.  Hence  came  the  title  "Agricul- 
tural Colleges  "  for  the  institutions  receiving  the  aid,  and  hence, 
still  further,  the  apprehension  that  the  act  was  in  the  special  interest 
of  agriculture  or  of  the  farmer  class.  The  text  of  the  act  of  1862 
gives  no  support  lohatever  to  any  such  idea.  The  baselessness  of  the 
thought  is  still  more  clear  if  one  compares  this  act  of  1862  with  the 
Hatch  Act  [see  below],  which  loas  intended  for  the  benefit  of  agri- 
culture. -^.W*<,tt4««*««««**»« 

Nothing  can  therefore  be  more  unfair  than  to  measure  the  advan- 
tage which  has  come  to  the  State  from  its  land  grant  by  what  that 
grant  has  accomplished  for  agriculture  alone.  Congress  wished,  in 
the  language  of  the  act,  to  promote  the  entire  "  liberal  and  practical 
education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and  profes- 
sions in  life."  No  scientific  or  classical  study  was  to  be  excluded 
from  the  colleges  founded  or  aided  by  the  money.  If  any  land  grant 
college  be  asked  what  it  has  done  in  discharge  of  its  duty  under  the 
grant,  it  may  properly  adduce  : 

1.  All  that  it  has  wrought  in  any  department  for  the  "  liberal 
and  practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pur- 
suits and  professions  in  life."      See  Section  four,  act  of  1862. 

2.  Whatever  it  has  effected  to  promote  education  in  any  branches 
of  learning  which  relate  to  the  mechanic  arts.  The  congressional 
act  places  the  numerous  mechanic  arts  at  least  on  a  level  in  impor- 
tance with  agriculture  itself.     So  do  all  the  colleges  founded  under  it. 

3.  Everything  which  it  has  accomplished  for  branches  of  learn- 
ing bearing  on  agriculture. 

After  entering  into  covenant  with  the  State,  the  University  pro- 
ceeded at  once  to  add,  as  it  has  steadily  continued  doing,  to  its  facili- 
ties for  instruction  in  the  branches  related  to  the  mechanic  arts  and 
o  agriculture.     Nearly  its  entire  outfit  in  Physics  hails  from  the  time 


since  then.  How  much  has  been  achieved  in  this  department  one 
may  see  by  examining  the  various  shops  and  laboratories  in  Wilson 
Hall.  Of  the  branches  of  learning  related  to  the  mechanic  arts, 
only  mathematics  and  free-hand  and  mechanical  drawing  need  be 
mentioned.  Drawing  has  been  introduced  since  1862,  and  the  work 
in  mathematics  doubled  or  trebled. 

In  this  immense  enlargement  of  its  facilities  and  work,  the  Uni- 
versity itself  has  received  no  tangible  financial  aid  from  the  land  fund 
placed  in  its  possession.  Not  a  cent  of  the  interest  of  this  has  gone 
to  purchase  the  new  instruction  called  for  by  the  agreement  with  the 
State.  All  money  thus  received  had  to  be  paid  out  in  scholai-ships. 
The  entire  advantage  has  thus  accrued  to  citizens  of  the  State,  ena- 
bling them  to  gain  a  liberal  education  for  their  sons  more  easily 
than  they  could  otherwise  have  done.  So  far  as  any  students  have 
been  brought  to  the  University  who  would  not  have  been  there  but 
for  this  special  aid,  the  tuition  receipts  may  have  been  somewhat  in- 
creased, but  probably  not.  The  price  at  which  such  students  have 
been  received  has  certainly  not  exceeded  the  cost  of  instructing  them, 
and  has  probably  been  much  below  it. 

No  one  can  candidly  weigh  the  above  facts  without  being  con- 
vinced that  in  the  matter  of  this  fund  Brown  University  has  given 
to  the  State  far  more  than  it  has  received  from  the  State. 

The  Hatch  Act. 

On  March  2,  1887,  there  was  approved  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  another  piece  of  land-grant  legislation,  known  as  the 
Hatch  Act,  which  it  may  be  well  briefly  to  mention  here,  that  it  may 
not  be  confounded  either  with  the  act  of  1862  or  with  the  new  Mor- 
rill Act,  to  be  spoken  of  presently.  The  Hatch  Act  was  peculiar 
in  aiming  at  information  rather  than  education.  It  was  to  diffuse 
"  useful  and  practical  information  on  subjects  connected  with  agri- 
culture and  to  promote  scientific  investigation  and  experiment  re- 
specting the  pi'inciples  and  applications  of  agricultui'al  science."  For 
these  purposes  each  State  receives  from  the  United  States,  by  virtue 
of  this  act,  the  sum  of  $15,000  a  year,  which  is  expended  in  con- 
nection with  some  agricultural  experiment  station  or  stations.  The 
act  presupposed  that  these  stations  would,  as  a  rule,  be  established 
in  conjunction  with  the  institutions  receiving  the  benefit  of  the  act  of 
1862,  and  most  of  them  are  so    associated ;  but  the  Hatch  Act,  in 


its  8th  Section,  provided  that  States  electing  so  to  do  might  join  their, 
experiment  stations  to  agricultural  schools  separate  from  the  colleges 
erected  under  the  act  of  1862.  Rhode  Island  availed  itself  of  this 
provision  in  building  its  excellent  station  at  South  Kingstown. 

Why   Brown    University    Was    Willing    to    Relinquish   the 
$50,000  HAD  THIS  Sum  Remained  Alone. 

To  return  to  the  fund  of  1862.  It  has  been  noticed  that  that 
$50,000,  however  helpful  to  students  therein,  affords  but  the  slight- 
est advantage  to  tlie  University  itself,  while  the  University's  agree- 
ment with  the  State  binds  it  forever  to  guarantee  the  integrity  of 
the  fund  itself,  as  well  as  to  realize  thereupon,  in  behalf  of  its 
State  beneficiaries,  at  least  5  per  cent,  yearly  interest.  This, 
every  one  sees,  is  a  very  onerous  requirement,  bidding  fair,  as  in- 
terest falls,  in  the  course  of  years,  to  force  the  University  to  use 
some  of  its  fund  for  teaching  in  order  to  keep  intact  this  scholarship 
fund.  Not,  till  recently,  expecting  anything  further  from  the  gov- 
ernment which  might  make  good  the  loss,  the  University  was 
willing,  in  case  the  State  should  find  itself  in  a  position  to  make 
legal  use  of  it,  to  pay  back  the  1862  fund,  or  its  equivalent,  into  the 
State  treasury.  Whether  the  State  was  in  a  position  to  make  a 
legal  use  of  the  money,  and,  if  not,  whether  it  could  put  itself  in 
such  a  position,  and,  if  so,  how,  were  questions  that  were  left  to  be 
-considered  by  the  State  and  the  committee  of  the  University  in  ar- 
ranging the  terms  on  which  the  money  should  be  returned.  The 
Corporation  was  willing  to  surrender  these  funds  because  : 

Tliey  involved  an  expensive  and  dangerous  guaranty. 

They  in  no  way  increased  the  University's  means  of  instruction. 

They  involved  a  draft  upon  the  University's  own  resources,  which 
was  ignored  by  tlie  State  auth(>rities  and  by  the  community. 

And  more  than  all,  because,  notwithstanding  these  things,  the  State 
authorities  and  the  public  believed  the  University  to  be  profiting  by 
the  proceeds  of  the  land  grant  and  not  to  be  fulfilling  its  trust  duties. 

When  the  act  of  August  30,  1890,  was  passed,  the  matter  assumed 
a  new  phase.  The  act  of  1890  so  increased  the  former  endowment 
that  the  guaranty  was  compensated,  and  the  University's  means  of  in- 
struction could  be  greatly  enlarged  instead  of  being  diminished. 
Moreover,  the  University,   holding  the  former  grant  in  trust,  could 


6 

not  honestly  disregard  its  duties,  which  assumed  new  clearness 
and  emphasis  when  the  Supreme  Court  decided  that  the  University 
was  the  only  agency  in  the  State  capable  of  performing  the  trusts  of 
the  acts  of  1862  and  1890. 

The  New  Morrill  Fund. 

We  now  come  to  the  grant  of  last  year.  By  an  act  of  Congress 
apprdved  August  30,  1890,  entitled  "An  Act  to  apply  a  portion  of 
the  proceeds  of  the  public  lands  to  the  more  complete  endowment 
and  support  of  the  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the 
mechanic  arts  established  under  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  Con- 
gress approved  July  2,  1862,"  Rhode  Island,  like  each  of  the  other 
States,  became  entitled  to  $15,000  for  the  year  ending  June  30, 
1890,  $16,000  for  the  present  United  States  fiscal  year,  1890-91, 
$17,000  for  the  next  fiscal  year,  and  so  on,  the  sum  increasing 
by  $1,000  each  year,  till  it  reaches  $25,000  a  year,  which  is  to  be 
the  permanent  annual  appropriation. 

The  New  Fund  Inseparable  From  the  Old. 

Legislation  of  some  such  nature  as  this  had  long  been  expected, 
and  it  had  been  commonly  presupposed  that  the  act,  when  it  ap- 
peared, would  contain  a  section  like  Section  8th  of  the  Hatch  Act, 
permitting  States  preferring  to  do  so  to  disconnect  this  new  fund  from, 
the  institutions  holding  that  of  1862,  and  bestow  it  upon  new 
institutions.  It  was  doubtless  such  an  anticipation  which  led  our 
General  Assembly  to  ordain  in  the  act  establishing  the  State  Agri- 
cultural School  [Section  4]  :  "Any  sum  which  shall  be  received  by 
the  State  by  virtue  of  any  act  of  Congress  for  the  promotion  of  agri- 
culture, shall  be  appropriated  to  the  use  of  said  board"  [of  the  Agri- 
cultural School].  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  the  new  act  con- 
tained no  such  section  as  Section  8th  of  the  Hatch  Act,  but  left  States 
without  option  as  to  the  bestowment  of  the  new  moneys.  This  act  is 
entitled  "An  act  to  apply  a  portion  of  the  proceeds  of  the  public 
lands  to  the  more  complete  endowment  and  support  of  the  colleges 
.  .  established  under  tlie  provisions  of  an  act  of  Congress  ap- 
proved July  2,  1862." 

Touching  the  omission  of  an  option  clause  in  the  act  of  1890, 
Senator  Morrill,  of  Vermont,  the  author  of  the  act  of  1890  as  Avell 
as  of  that  of  1862,  has  given  the  following  information  : 


"  It  was  proposed  by  a  distinguished  Senator  to  put  into  that  act 
a  provision  by  which  a  proportion  might  be  diverted  to  new  colleges 
in  various  States.  I  objected  to  it,  and  told  him  my  idea  was  to  re- 
inforce those  already  established,  and  that  it  would  be  very  disagree- 
able to  me  for  him  to  present  any  amendment  of  that  kind,  or  even 
to  allow  it  to  be  done,  and  he  therefore  consented  to  withdraw  it, 
and  the  amendment  putting  in  a  provision  to  allow  a  State  to  change 
from  the  colleges  established  in  1862,  was  not  presented  in  the  Sen- 
ate, and  did  not  get  in  in  any  other  way." 

One  can,  therefore,  easily  understand  how  it  was  that,  on  Dec.  2, 
1890,  responding  to  an  official  inquiry  made  by  His  Excellency 
Governor  Davis,  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Rhode  Island 
declared  it  to  be  their  opinion  that  Brown  University  was  the  only 
institution  in  this  State  which  could  legally  receive  the  new  Morrill 
fund. 

Hovr  THE  Funds  Ought  to   be  Applied. 

While  Brown  University  Avould  doubtless  gladly  relinquish  all  title 
to  these  funds  were  such  a  course  possible  and  in  accord  with  the  na- 
tion's purpose  and  with  the  State's  best  interests,  it  ought  not  to  do 
this,  nor,  of  course,  can  any  citizen  of  the  State  desire  that  it 
should,  unless  these  conditions  can  be  fulfilled.  Not  only  must 
this  course  be  seen  to  be  legal,  but  there  must  be  a  practical  certainty 
that  the  State  would  be  able  to  administer  the  funds  strictly  in  ac- 
cordance with  their  purpose  as  expressed  in  the  acts  of  Congress 
creating  them. 

The  school  or  college  which  has  these  moneys,  must,  to  carry  out 
the  intention  of  Congress,  possess  appliances  somewhat  like  those  of 
the  Sheffield  Scientific  School,  or  those  of  the  scientific  department 
of  a  first  class  college.  No  mere  industrial  school  will  do.  In  an 
address  on  this  subject  before  the  House  Committee  on  Education  in 
the  Vermont  Legislature  last  October,  Senator  Morrill  said  : 

"  Now  it  seems  that  under  the  late  act  ffivino:  further  endowment 
to  these  colleges,  it  is  proposed  to  establish  something  that  will 
amount  to  nothing  more  than  an  agricultural  school  for  our  State.  I 
should  regard  that  as  a  revolution  and  subversive  of  the  whole  idea 
of  the  land  grant  act  of  1862,  which  was  of  a  much  broader  kind.  It 
included,  to  be  sure,  the  idea  that  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts  were    to  have  a  leading  or  first  position,  but  it  also  included 


much  more.  It  was  for  the  industrial  classes,  to  promote  their  in- 
struction generally^  and  it  was  not  to  exclude  even  the  classics. 
Therefore,  I  should  regard  any  change  from  the  original  act  as  a  di- 
version of  the  fund,  and  a  revolution  of  the  whole  practical  idea." 

In  the  language  of  the  act  of  1862,  any  college  receiving  the  fund 
must  teach  such  hranches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture 
and  the  mechanic  arts,  and  be  able  "  to  promote  the  liberal  and  prac- 
tical education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and 
professions  of  life."  One  undivided  sort  of  education  is  here  meant, 
an  education  that  shall  be  at  once  libei'al  and  practical,  viz.,  higher 
education  on  its  scientific  side.  In  the  words  of  the  new  act  of  1890, 
the  school  or  college  is  to  give  "  instruction  in  agriculture,  the  me- 
chanic arts,  the  English  language,  and  the  various  hranches  of  mathe- 
matical, physical,  natural  and  economic  science,  with  special  reference 
to  their  applications  in  the  industries  of  life,  and  to  the  facilities  for 
such  instruction."  Much  plant  in  the  way  of  laboratories  and  scien- 
tific apparatus  is  here  evidently  required.  Well  equipped  laborato- 
ries for  Chemistry,  Physics,  Electricity  and  Zoology,  and  means  for 
instruction  in  Civil  and  Mechanical  Engineering — these  must  be  had 
at  the  very  least,  and  it  is  needless  to  say  that  they  will  cost  a  great 
deal  of  money.  To  put  in  such  an  outfit,  to  work  it  as  it  should  be 
worked,  by  able  talent,  and  to  add  to  it  from  time  to  time,  as  will  be 
necessary,  cannot  but  require  money  vastly  in  excess  of  the  govern- 
ment annuities,  and  the  surplus  must  of  course  come  from  the  State's 
treasury. 

The  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College  at  Amherst  has  cost  that 
State  not  less  than  $500,000  ;  that  of  Michigan  has  cost  its  State 
not  less  than  800,000,  sums  which  would  be  much  larger  if  these 
schools  had  done  for  the  learning  related  to  the  mechanic  arts  what 
they  have  done  for  agriculture.  It  is  within  bounds  to  say  that  Rhode 
Island  cannot  apply  the  government  funds  to  any  new  school,  and 
honestly  carry  out  their  purpose,  without  securing  in  either  taxes  or  pri- 
vate benefactions  fully  half  a  million  dollars  within  a  few  years.  It 
is  very  doubtful  whether  a  sum  like  that  would  be  forthcoming.  Ad- 
ditional appropriations  would  be  incessantly  called  for.  Michigan, 
for  instance,  gave  to  her  Agricultural  College  $16,788  for  the  year 
1889,  $22,987  for  1890. 


9 

Why  Not  Aftkr  All  Build  New  Plant? 

But  suppose  the  taxation  could  be  obtained  to  build  up  such  a 
school  at  South  Kingstown,  would  that  policy  be  desirable?  In 
answer  to  this  inquiry  several  considerations  ought  to  be  weighed. 

1.  Section  6th  of  the  act  of  1890  reads  :  "  Congress  may  at  any 
time  amend,  suspend,  or  repeal  any  or  all  of  the  provisions  of  this 
act."  There  is  some  reason  for  fear,  so  tremendous  are  now  the 
drafts  upon  the  federal  treasury,  that  the  bounty  coming  to  us  under 
this  act  of  Congress  will  be  of  brief  duration.  Suppose  it  cut  olF,  the 
State  must  either  give  up  its  great  establishment  or  support  it 
vv^holly  at  its  own  expense. 

2.  The  expense  would  be  unnecessary,  and  the  duplication  of 
appliances  useless,  since  all  the  plant  that  the  State  would  have  to 
acquire  under  the  plan  now  before  us,  and  much  more,  is  already  at 
hand  in  Brown  Univei-sity,  not  having  cost  the  State  a  cent.  It  is 
possible  to  add  to  this,  as  a  pure  extra  advantage  to  Rhode  Island, 
the  entire  amount  of  the  new  government  annuities,  so  that  our  State 
may  possess  instead  of  two  imperfect  sets  of  appliances  for  scientific 
training  in  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  one  splendid  plant,  the 
peer  of  any  in  the  land  [see  below,  p.  11  J,  and  this  in  connection  with 
facilities  for  all  other  sorts  of  advanced  educational  work — which 
would  be  desired  by  many.  Nor  Avould  the  withdrawal  of  the  gov- 
ernment aid  ever  produce  a  crisis. 

3.  The  school  at  Kingstown,  whatever  form  it  takes,  while  the 
entire  State  will  be  taxed  for  it,  can  never  benefit,  to  any  extent,  our 
great  city  and  factory  communities.  Providence,  Pawtucket,  New- 
port, Woonsocket,  Bristol  and  Warren,  embracing  72.06  per  cent,  of 
the  entire  valuation  of  the  State,  would  get  practically  nothing  out  of  it. 
It  would  exist  for  certainly  not  over  20  per  cent,  of  the  State's  valua- 
tion. Few  besides  sons  and  daughters  of  the  farming  population 
would  resort  to  it,  a  population  furnishing  but  6.4  per  cent,  of  the 
Rhode  Islanders  engaged  in  gainful  occupations,  while  manufactur- 
ing and  mechanical  trades  alone  furnish  35.5  per  cent,  and  commerce 
alone  7.2  per  cent. 

4.  Hardly  any  of  the  farmers  themselves  desire  a  school  such  as 
we  must  have  in  order  to  answer  the  purposes  of  the  government 
grants.  They  wish,  instead,  a  school  which  will  give  some  knowl- 
edge of  practical    branches,   and  teach    how    to  make  farming  pay, 


10 

Avithout  inducing  pupils  to  leave  the  farm,  as  so  many  do  who  go  to 
colleges,  whether  agricultural  or  other.  Of  the  310  living  graduates 
of  the  Michigan  College  of  Agriculture,  only  twenty-two  are  farmers, 
probably  a  smaller  proportion  than  in  case  of  Brown  University. 
The  school  at  Kingstown  has  been  carefully  planned  to  meet  this 
requirement,  yet  we  already  hear  murmurs  that  its  aim  is  too  high. 
It  would  be  a  great  pity  to  give  up  this  school.  It  should  be 
cherished.  But  the  sole  way  to  keep  it  popular  with  the  class  for 
whom  it  was  built  would  seem  to  be  to  develop  it  along  the  lines  of 
its  present  work.  In  such  development  it  cannot  but  receive  great 
benefit  from  the  strong  Experiment  Station  by  its  side,  sustained  as  it 
is  by  government  aid  to  the  extent  of  $15,000  a  year. 

What,  Then,  is  the  Morrill  Grant  Good  For  ? 

Some  may  think  that  if  these  moneys  were  given,  as  above  de- 
scribed, primarily  in  aid  of  so-called  higher  education,  they  cannot 
much  benefit  the  State.  Such  a  thought  comes  from  a  misappre- 
hension of  the  nature  of  the  education  meant.  So-called  higher  ed- 
ucation has  lately  suffered  the  most  extraordinary  changes  of 
method  and  spirit.  Many  seem  to  suppose  that  it  involves  only 
classical,  philosophical  and  other  very  unpractical  subjects.  The 
fact  is  quite  otherwise.  Courses  of  study  of  four  years,  of  three 
years,  of  two  years,  of  one  year,  of  a  half  year,  are  open  to  all 
applicants  wlio  can  take  the  work,  and  the  qualifications  for  the 
simpler  courses  are  very  moderate.  The  University  gladly  welcomes 
all  who  wish  to  learn  anything  from  it  which  its  means  enable  it  to 
teach.  Degrees  and  college  honors  are  too  purely  academic  to  be 
much  considered  in  this  place,  but  it  is  worth  while  to  notice  that 
even  a  candidate  for  a  degree  is  not  compelled  to  seek  it  in  any 
narrow  or  conventionally  prescribed  path.  The  highest  college 
honors  may  be  obtained  by  the  classical  student  even  if  he  unfor- 
tunately knows  nothing  of  the  calculus,  or  by  the  scientific  student 
totally  ignorant  of  both  Greek  and  Latin. 

What  the  University  Should  Do. 

If  Brown  University  receives  the  new  funds,  it  should  arrange: 
1,     To  keep  a  separate  account  of  these  moneys,  to  be  published 
yearly,  showing  in  detail  the  objects  for  which  they  are  expended. 


11 

2.  To  enlarge  the  instruction  already  given  by  it  in  Pure  Mathe- 
matics, Civil  Engineering,  Physics,  Meteorology,  Agricultural  Chem- 
istry, Agricultural  Botany,  Agricultural  Zoology,  and  Agriculture 
Proper. 

3.  To  put  in  a  complete  plant  for  instruction  in  Electricity. 

4.  To  introduce  high  grade  special  instruction  in  Veterinary 
Science,  Mechanical  Engineering,  Electrical  Engineering,  the  English 
Language,  Industrial  Design,  Public  Finance,  and  Administration, 
thus  instituting,  by  means  of  these  studies  and  the  above,  with  others, 
a  distinct  and  elaborate  School  of  Applied  Science. 

j^  5,  To  give  to  Rhode  Island  youth  one  hundred  free  scholarships, 
each  covering  all  the  holder's  expenses  for  instruction  (but  not  cost  of 
materials  in  laboratories),  in  any  department  of  the  University^ 
whether  for  a  longer  or  a  shorter  period  of  time. 


X 


Methods  are  Practical. 


The  pedantic  methods  of  teaching,  once  too  prevalent,  have  passed 
away.  Rote  learning  and  mere  book  learning  are  discouraged.  Stu- 
dents are  made  to  think  and  investigate  for  themselves.  Each  is 
forced  to  do  something  with  his  own  hands  and  to  prove  something 
by  his  own  wits.  Laboratory  methods  are  used  more  and  more. 
The  brightest  students  go  into  the  workshop  and  learn  to  saw, 
chisel,  plane,  drill,  weld,  file,  and  shape,  to  use  all  the  principal  sorts 
of  tools  and  machinery.  Such  practical  training  does  not  make  fops 
but  men  who  can  bring  things  to  pass. 

University  Extension. 

A  still  more  remarkable  development  is  the  University  extension 
movement,  which  is  making  such  rapid  headway  in  England  and 
America,  bringing  the  advantages  of  collegiate  instruction  to  the  very 
doors  of  the  humblest  people.  Men  of  the  highest  eminence  in  the 
various  departments  of  science  and  literature  are  sent  out  to  give  in- 
struction and  hold  examinations  in  all  the  cities  and  large  towns, 
where  they  gather  about  themselves  classes  representing  both  sexes, 
all  ages,  and  all  degrees  of  culture,  and  teach  them.  A  new  and 
most  intense  interest  in  education  has  thus  been  aroused  wherever  the 
movement  has  extended.  No  measure  ever  invented  has  done  so 
much  to  popularize  true  intellectual  development  and  interest  as  this 


12 

bids  fair  to  accomplish.  Hopeful  beginnings  have  already  been  made 
in  Providence  and  Pawtucket,  enough  to  give  promise  that  the  move- 
ment will  sweep  the  State  another  winter. 

Value  of  Instruction  in  Science. 

Little  as  most  of  us  think  about  it,  the  public,  even  to  the  poorest 
people,  have  a  direct  interest  in  the  deepest  scientific  investigations 
and  studies.  Nearly  all  the  great  advances  in  practical  industry, 
which  make  goods  cheaper  and  life  happier,  depend  upon  principles 
which  have  been  carefully  wrought  out  in  the  study  or  the  laboratory. 
Edison  could  do  little  but  for  the  science  of  physics,  which  less  prac- 
tical men  elaborated  and  made  ready  for  his  use.  Physics,  in  turn, 
depends  at  every  step  upon  the  higher  mathematics.  Bi-chloride  of 
mercury,  which  has  given  to  recent  surgery  its  glorious  successes, 
and  which,  in  medicine,  has  taken  its  main  terrors  from  that  once 
awful  disease,  diphtheria,  is  a  chemical  invention.  The  highest  edu- 
cation more  than  pays  for  itself  even  in  dollars  and  cents.  Witness 
the  case  of  Germany,  which  manufactures  83  per  cent,  of  the  chemi- 
cals used  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  because  of  the  chemical  discov- 
eries made  and  the  knowledge  of  chemistry  diffused  among  her  peo- 
ple through  the  agency  of  her  universities.  It  is  for  lack  of  chemical 
knowledge  of  clays  that  America  makes  no  such  crockery  as  Ger- 
many or  Austria,  and  the  same  lack  wastes  for  us  every  year  mil- 
lions of  dollars  worth  of  materials  and  labor  in  such  third  or  fourth 
class  pottery  as  we  do  make.  In  the  effort  of  America  to  compete 
industrially  with  European  nations,  no  one  thing  is  more  important 
than  the  promotion  among  us  of  scientific  training  in  its  higher 
forms.  Nor  is  there  any  other  State  where  such  training  will  pay 
quicker  or  better  than  it  will  in  Rhode  Island. 


APPENDIX  I. 


The  Sale  of  the  1862  Land." 

Since  much  has  been  said  from  time  to  time  upon  the  early  sale  of 
this  land  and  the  low  price  which  it  brought,  attention  is  invited  to 
the  following  points  : 

1 .  The  law  which  gave  the  State  the  scrip  forbade  the  State  itself 
to  locate  it.  Only  the  State's  assignee  could  do  this.  The  State  itself 
must  either  (1)  sell  the  scrip  at  once,  (2)  hold  it  for  a  rise,  knowing 
meanwhile  that  the  best  lands  were  being  rapidly  taken,  or  (3)  turn 
it  over  to  an  assignee  to  sell,  or  to  locate  with  a  view  of  either  hold- 
ing or  selling  the  land.  The  State  chose  the  third  course,  Brown 
University  being  the  assignee. 

2.  The  University  was  not  anxious  for  this  office  but  accepted 
it  reluctantly  and  at  no  little  sacrifice,  because  this  was  clearly  the 
only  way  in  which  the  donation  could  avail  anything  for  Rhode 
Island.  The  grant  was  to  become  void  for  any  State  which  did  not 
in  five  years  from  the  date  of  the  act  provide  a  college  to  receive  it, 
and  this  whether  any  scrip  or  land  had  then  been  sold  or  not.  No 
other  suitable  institution  was  ready  to  assume  the  Drust,  and  the  State 
had  no  mind  to  create  one. 

3.  Not  a  cent  of  the  expense  connected  with  locating,  selling,  or 
holding  scrip  or  land,  could  be  paid  out  of  the  income  itself;  not  a 
cent's  worth  of  the  risk  could  be  thus  met.  The  State,  or,  after  the 
agreement,  the  University,  had  to  provide  for  all  this  expense  and 
risk  out  of  its  own  funds. 

4.  The  University  could  hope  to  realize  a  very  large  sum  for 
the  scrip,  if  at  all,  only  by  locating  it  and  holding  the  land  for  a  rise. 
This  involved  (1)  the  cost  of  locating,  (2)  the  taxes,  increasing  with 
the  value  of  -the  land,  (3)  pay  for  a  land  agent  to  watch  for  the  best 
chances  of  sale,  also  to  make  sales,  pay  taxes,  and  the  like,  and  (4) 
indefinite  expense  in  defending  titles.  The  State  could  not  have  ex- 
pected the  University  to  engage  in  any  such  speculation  as  this,  for 
its  charter,  which  is  part  of  the  State's  law,  forbade.  Some  friend 
of  the  University  might  have  done  this  for  it,  at  his  own  risk,  as 
Ezra  Cornell  did  for  the  institution  which  bears  his  name  ;  but  it  is 
certainly  not  the  University's  fault  that  no  such  friend  appeared. 


14 

5.  Selling,  therefore,  of  necessity,  at  an  early  date,  the  University 
could  not,  by  any  sagacity,  have  gotten  very  much  more  for  its  scrip 
than  it  actually  received.  The  State  did  not  expect  that  a  very 
large  sum  would  be  realized,  for  it  bound  the  University  to  educate 
a  needy  Rhode  Island  student  a  year  for  every  $100  of  interest  on 
the  sum  received,  at  a  rate  which  was  to  be  five  per  cent,  at  least. 
Even  at  this  low  rate  $100,000  would  have  called  for  50  students, 
$200,000  for  100  students,  $500,000  for  250,  and  so  on.  Rhode 
Island  has  never  had  in  Brown  University  so  many  as  200  students, 
indigent  or  other.  Was  it  supposed  that  free  tuition  would  double 
or  treble  the  number? 

6.  It  appears  from  the  above  that  neither  the  fund  of  1862  nor 
that  of  1890  would  ever  have  been  within  the  reach  of  Rhode  Island 
but  for  Brown  University,  Had  not  the  University  accepted  the 
trust  no  college  under  the  act  of  1862  would  have  been  instituted 
within  five  years  from  the  date  of  that  act.  It  would  thus  have  be- 
come invalid  so  far  as  concerned  this  State.  But  the  act  of  1890 
was  ''an  act  for  the  more  complete  endowment  and  support  of  the 
colleges  established"  under  the  act  of  1862.  Had  the  passage  of  this 
act  of  1890  found  Rhode  Island  without  such  a  college,  our  State 
Avould  have  had  no  claim  whatever  upon  the  new  fund.  It  appears, 
further,  that  after  the  1862  fund  had  thus  come  to  Rhode  Island,  it 
was  impossible  that  it  should  have  been  administered  by  the  State  in 
any  such  way  as  to  make  it  yield  our  people  any  essential  advan- 
tage which  they  have  not  in  fact  derived  from  it. 


APPENDIX    II. 


Studies  Available  at  Brown  University  Compared  With  Those 
OF  THE  Specifically  Agricultural  Colleges. 

Ninety-nine  per  cent,  of  the  studies  pursued  in  the  colleges  most 
devoted  to  agriculture  can  be  pursued  in  Brown  University.  We 
select  a  few  entirely  at  random.  Among  the  finest  of  the  colleges 
erected  specially  in  the  agricultural  interest  is  that  of  Michigan.  It 
presents  two  considerably  separate  courses,  each  covering  four  years, 
one  named  "Agricultural,"  and  the  other  "  Mechanical."  In  the 
Mechanical  Course,  Catalogue  of  '89-'90,  there  is  but  one  study  not 


15 

taught  in  Brown  University,  and  even  in  the  agricultural  there  are 
hat  four^  one  of  them  being  the  same  as  the  one  referred  to  in  the 
mechanical  course.  The  four  are  Military  Science,  Horticulture, 
Landscape  Gardening,  and  Veterinary  Science.  Of  these  only  Horti- 
culture arid  Veterinary  Science  are  specially  "  related  to  "  Agriculture, 
and  only  the  last  is  of  much  importance. 

'J'he  case  is  nearly  the  same  at  the  Maine  State  College.  Here 
five  full  courses  [of  four  years  each]  are  provided,  viz.,  "A  course  in 
Agriculture,  in  Civil  Engineering,  in  Mechanical  P^ngineering,  in 
Chemistry,  and  in  Science  and  Literature."  Only  the  first  of  these 
presents  studies  not  taught  in  Brown  University,  viz.,  Landscape 
Gardening,  Horticulture,  and  Experimental  Farming. 


APPENDIX  III. 


Agricultural  Students  and  Other  Students. 

It  is  urged  that  students  of  agricultural  science  should  pursue  their 
studies  by  themselves  ;  that  if  associated  with  students  of  other  sub 
jects,  candidates  for  degrees,  perhaps,  they  feel  themselves  depre- 
ciated, and  make  less  progress  than  they  might,  while  the  arrange- 
ment prevents  many  from  beginning  study  at  all.  There  is  much 
testimony  that  such  infelicities  have  arisen  in  some  cases,  but  they 
have  certainly  sprung  from  local  and  temporary  causes.  No  such 
results  have  been  observed  at  Cornell  University,  confessedly  the 
foremost  of  all  the  establishments  which  grew  out  of  the  act  of  1862. 
The  student  of  agriculture  there  does  95  per  cent  of  his  work  in  gen- 
eral classes,  made  up  of  people  with  all  sorts  of  aims,  partly  special 
students,  partly  candidates  in  arts,  science,  engineering,  or  letters. 
No  difference  is  known  ;   apparently  no  difference  is  ever  felt. 

The  following,  from  President  Buckham,  of  the  University  of 
Vermont,  is  in  point  relating  to  the  charge  that  students  of  agricul- 
ture are  looked  down  on  : 

"  As  the  charge  is  so  often  and  so  persistently  made  and  has  been 
made  for  the  past  twenty  years,  I  went  before  the  body  of  our  agri- 
cultural students  a  few  days  ago,  and  I  told  them  of  this  nonsense 
being  circulated  around  throughout  the  State.  '  Now,'  said  I,  '  you 
have  been  here  for  more  than  a  year,  some  of  you  two  years  ;  you 
have  associated  with  other  students  everywhere,  you  have  been  sit- 


16 

ting  with  them  at  the  same  table  in  the  boarding-house  ;  you  meet  with 
them  every  morning  at  chapel ;  you  are  associated  with  them  on  the 
play-ground,  you  are  with  them  in  the  gymnasium  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  ;  you  are  with  them  in  my  Bible  classes 
on  Sundays,  and  some  other  classes,  and  I  want  to  know  if  any  one 
of  you  has  ever  had  the  slighest  discourtesy  or  unkindness  in  any  way 
shoAvn  you  by  the  other  students  ;  if  you  have,  please  hold  up  your 
hand.'  Not  a  hand  went  up.  '  Well,'  I  said,  '  perhaps,  if  they  have 
not  been  discovirteous,  they  have  just  neglected  yovi  and  shown  you 
the  cold  shoulder.  If  you  have  been  handsomely  treated  by  the  other 
students,  just  as  handsomely  treated  as  you  wish  to  be,  please  hold 
up  your  right  hand.'  And  every  hand  went  up.  Now  you  can 
bring  every  one  of  those  students  here,  or  you  can  go  down  and  see 
them,  and  if  you  can  find  one  of  them  who  will  make  any  different 
testimony  than  that  I  will  take  it  all  back.  Not  only  that,  but  some 
of  the  young  gentlemen  came  to  lae  afterward  and  said.  Not  only 
is  the  position  you  took,  our  position,  but  we  would  not  go  to  an 
institution  in  any  other  place  than  something  like  this  ;  we  Avould  not 
go  to  a  separate  agricultural  collegia,  because,  as  we  cannot  have  more 
than  a  two  years  course  of  study,  we  want  to  go  where  we  can  get  in- 
directly as  much  as  we  can  of  these  other  influences. 

"Not  only  so,  but  during  the  last  vacation  we  sent  out  one  of  the 
professors  in  the  agricultural  department  and  two  students  to  make  a 
sort  of  canvass  of  the  State  ;  they  went  into  several  counties,  as 
many  as  twenty  towns,  and  went  from  house  to  house,  and  talked 
with  the  parents  and  the  boys,  and  in  only  one  instance  was  this  ob- 
jection ever  raised,  and  that  was  in  the  case  of  one  who  is  a  member 
of  the  House,  and  had  been  interviewed  by  the  friends  of  this  meas- 
ure. In  every  other  instance  not  only  no  objection  of  this  kind  was 
raised,  but  a  strong  desire  was  expressed  by  the  young  men  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  advantages  of  living  in  such  a  place  as  Burling- 
ton." 

Much  other  evidence  to  the  sam<3  effect  might  be  adduced. 

Equally  baseless  is  the  assertion  that  in  the  so-called  literary  col- 
leges, the  tendency  is  to  habits  of  extravagant  expenditure.  Such 
habits  are  confined  to  very  few  students.  For  the  many,  college  life 
is  a  continual  school  of  economy,  of  hard  struggle  to  make  a  little 
go  a  great  way.  In  Brown  University,  at  any  rate,  there  is  no 
tendency  to  ape  the  style  of  the  very  few  wealthy  young  men  who 
spend  too  much. 


{^  "i  ^  rr^  Nl€^^>^ 


ARGUMENTS 

IN   FAA^OR   OP   MAKING   THE 

STATE  AGRICULTUEAL  SCHOOL  AT   KINGSTON  THE 

AGRICULTUEAL  AND  MECHANICAL  COLLEGE 

OF  THE  STATE,  AND  APPLYING  TO  ITS 

USE  THE   INCOME  OF   THE 

"L^ND     aRA^NT     FXJ]^D" 

OF    JXJLY    3,    IS  6  3, 

NOW  USED  FOR  STATE   SCHOLARSHIPS  AT  BROWN  UNIVERSITY, 

AND  THE  FUNDS  NOW  DUE  THE  STATE  UNDER  THE 

NEW  MOERILL  BILL, 

Passed  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  August  30,  1890. 


At  a  continued  hearing,  held  in  the  Senate  Chamber, 
April  20,  1891,  by  the  Commission  appointed  by  the 
General  Assembly  to  confer  Avith  the  Committee  of  the 
Corporation  of  Brow^n  University  in  regard  to  the  dis- 
position of  the  Agricultural  Funds,  every  seat  was  occu- 
pied and  the  lobby  well  filled  with  representatives  of 
the  industrial  classes  from  every  part  of  the  State.  The 
following  is  stenographically  reported. 


6  <50 


Mr.  Charles  O.  Flagg,  President  of  the  Board  of  Man- 
agers of  the  Rhode  Island  State  Agricultural  School, 
spoke  as  follows  : 

Your  Excellency  and  gentlemen  of  the  Commission : 

The  question  which  we  are  here  to  discuss  is  not  a  new  one.  It 
is  not  a  question  of  little  importance.  It  is  a  question  which  has 
been  before  the  public  for  many  years,  a  question  which  is  to  have 
its  influence  for  a  great  many  years  to  come,  and,  therefore,  it  re- 
quires a  consideration  which  shall  be  deep  and  which  shall  cover 
it  most  thoroughly,  that  the  best  interests  of  the  people  of  this 
state  may  be  promoted. 

That  we  may  better  consider  this  question,  we  will  discuss  it 
under  four  heads.  1st.  The  Government  Grants  :  2nd.  The  action 
of  the  State :  3d.  The  Institutions  involved :  4th.  The  people. 
These  perhaps  are  in  the  inverse  ratio  of  their  importance,  as  the 
entire  object  of  the  government  grants  is  the  benefit  of  the  people. 

1st.  In  relation  to  the  government  grants.  As  long  ago  as  1847 
we  find  the  then  Agricultural  Department  of  the  United  States 
connected  with  the  Patent  Office  sending  a  commissioner  to  Europe 
to  investigate  the  agricultural  schools  and  institutions  of  England, 
Germany  and  France,  desiring  to  obtain  information  in  regard  to 
establishing  something  of  the  kind  for  this  country.  In  1851  Dr. 
Hitchcock  was  commissioned  by  Massachusetts  to  execute  a  similar 
errand,  with  the  object  in  view  of  establishing  in  Massachusetts 
something  which  should  accomplish  the  same  purpose  as  the 
agricultural  and  mechanical  institutions  in  Europe.  Michigan  and 
Maryland  we  believe  had  established,  or  taken  steps  toward  estab- 
lishing, their  agricultural  institutions  when  the  Hon.  Justin  S. 
Morrill,  on  December  14th,  1857,  introduced  into  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States  a  bill  which  is  now  known  as  the  Land  Grant 
Act,  or  a  bill  which  resulted  in  the  one  which  is  now  in  force.     For 


14  months  he  worked  earnestly  for  the  passage  of  that  bill,  and  it 
was  passed  by  both  bodies  of  the  National  Congress  only  to  be 
vetoed  by  President  Buchanan  and  thus  failed  of  its  purpose.  In 
Dec.  1861,  he  introduced  another  bill  similar  to  the  first  in  most 
respects,  but  differing  in  this,  that  it  conferred  upon  each  United 
States  senator  and  representative  for  each  state  scrip  to  the  amount 
of  30,000  instead  of  20,000  acres.  That  bill  was  tied  up  in  the  house 
of  representatives  and  delayed,  and  finally  a  similar  bill  was  in- 
troduced into  the  Senate,  which  was  passed  by  both  houses  and  be- 
came a  law,  with  the  signature  of  President  Abraham  Lincoln,  on , 
the  2d  of  July,  1862.     This  was  the  original  Land  Grant  Act. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  purpose  designed  to  be  accomplished 
by  the  passage  cf  this  act.  There  were  in  the  United  States  at 
this  time  many  classical  institutions,  which  had  been  in  existence 
for  a  great  many  years,  which  were  fulfilling  their  purpose  and 
accomplishing  that  for  which  they  were  designed.  It  was  not 
to  further  the  interests  of  these  institutions  that  this  bill  was 
passed.  One  of  the  principal  reasons  for  the  passage  of  this  bill 
we  find  given  by  the  Hon.  Senator  from  Vermont  in  a  speech 
which  he  made  at  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  passage  of  the  Land 
Grant  Act  of  1862.     Senator  Morrill  says  : 

"  In  the  first  argument  made  by  me  in  1858  in  behalf  of  the 
Land  Grant  Colleges,  I  pointed  out  the  fact  that  there  was  going 
on  an  annual  deterioration  of  the  soil,  as  it  appeared  by  the  de- 
cennial census  reports,  showing  a  less  and  less  number  of  bushels 
of  cereals  produced  per  acre  throughout  nearly  all  of  the  states. 
This  deterioration  has  not  been  arrested,  though  more  vigilant  at- 
tention is  now  given  to  the  subject,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  will  not 
be  wholly  arrested  until  the  scalping  system  of  farming,  or  of 
cropping  and  returning  nothing,  shall  no  longer  be  profitable  upon 
old  homesteads  that  are  to  be  abandoned  with  the  hope  of  a  future 


4 

continuance  of  the  system  upon  the  present  limited  prairies  of  the 
West.  In  various  portions  of  Europe  they  are  giving  far  more 
liberal  aid  to  similar  institutions  than  that  which  has  been  ac- 
corded in  the  United  States ;  and  they  are  there  retaining  the 
maximum  fertility  of  their  soil.  There  is  no  subject  to  our  people 
of  profounder  concern  or  of  more  far-reaching  importance." 

That  is  given  by  Senator  Morrill,  as  one  of  the  chief  arguments 
for  the  passage  of  this  Land  Grant  Bill. 

Let  us  turn  to  the  clause  of  the  Land  Grant  Act  which  gives 
the  object  of  the  Bill. 

«  *  *  -«-  g^j^(j  i\^Q  interest  of  which  shall  be  inviolably  ap- 
propriated by  each  State  which  may  take  and  claim  the  benefit  of 
this  act,  to  the  endowment,  support  and  maintenance  of  at  least 
one  college,  where  the  leading  object  shall  be,  without  excluding 
other  scientific  and  classical  studies,  and  including  military  tac- 
tics, to  teach  such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  Agricul- 
ture and  the  Mechanic  Arts,  in  such  manner  as  the  Legislatures 
of  the  States  may  respectively  prescribe,  in  order  to  promote  the 
liberal  and  practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the 
several  pursuits  and  professions  in  life." 

Let  us  now  turn  to  page  third  of  this  pamphlet,  presented  by 
Brown  University  at  the  hearing  a  fe^  days  ago.  Here  we  find 
in  small  capitals  : 

"  It  is  a  very  great  error  to  suppose  that  the  grant  was  solely 
or  even  primarily  intended  to  increase  the  knowledge  of  agricul- 
ture, or  to  further  education  of  any  sort  among  the  agricultural 
population  in  particular."  Now  we  find  that  Senator  Morrill 
states  himself  twenty-five  years  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  that 
the  fact  that  agricultural  products  were  decreasing,  and  it  was 
necessary  that  something  be  done  to  increase  the  knowledge  of 
agriculture,  was  one  of  the  first  arguments  for  the  passage  of  the 


Land  Grant  Bill.  Does  that  not  bear  out  the  fact  that  the  estab- 
lishment of  these  colleges  was  to  accomplish  something  for  the 
agriculture  of  the  country  and  for  the  farmer?     He  says  here, 

"  Something  more  than  a  system  of  liberal  education  for  the  class 
of  the  so-called  '  liberal  professions '  was  demanded,  and  this  class, 
where  the  greatest  number  of  representatives  of  the  highest  cul- 
ture now  exists,  should  all  gladly  welcome  additions  to  their  own 
numbers  of  other  learned  men.  The  great  army  of  industrious 
laborers  in  the  field  and  workshop,  in  mines  and  factories,  or  on 
railroads  and  other  business  enterprises,  ready  at  any  time  to  give 
their  lives  in  support  of  the  liberties  and  union  of  the  nation,  had 
some  right  to  more  of  sound  and  appropriate  learning  that  would 
elevate  and  especially  profit  them  in  their  respective  future 
careers. 

The  school  age  of  man  is  far  too  brief  for  the  acquirement  of 
all  knowledge  of  philosophy,  letters  and  science,  and  lohere  the 
dead  languages  have  the  primacy,  there  is  little  chance  for  the 
sciences,  for  modern  languages,  or  even  for  our  native  tongue,  or 
indeed,  for  much,  with  scholarly  thoroughness,  in  anything  else. 
A  mere  smattering  of  the  sciences,  or  of  the  ancient  languages, 
is  no  more  to  be  coveted  than  even  the  old  absolute  unity  of  all 
college  education.  The  organic  law  of  the  Land  Grant  Colleges, 
therefore,  made  it  a  leading  feature  that  instruction  should  be 
provided  without  ostracising  anything,  in  branches  related  to 
Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic  Arts,  upon  which,  as  we  all  know, 
the  greatest  number  of  mankind  must  rely  for  their  subsistence 
and  happiness,  as  well  as  for  their  growth  and  reputation  among 
men. 

The  sciences  related  to  agriculture,  tending  among  other  things, 
to  increase  the  food  products  of  the  world,  and  the  mechanic  arts, 
upon  which  nations  must  lean  for  their  independence  and  defence, 


should  neither  be  ignored  nor  assigned  to  an  inferior  position. 
The  mastery  in  these  robust  branches  of  learning  requires  training 
and  brain  power,  and  does  not  exclude,  though  it  may  diminish 
attention  to  those  branches  of  study  too  often  regarded  as  the 
only  branches  where  honors  can  be  won,  or  as  the  only  luxuries 
of  a  liberal  education."  "  These  colleges  are  thoroughly  American, 
and  for  all  time  will  be  entrusted  with  work  annually  increasing 
in  importance.  Our  artisans  are  to  contest  with  the  skill  and 
wealth  of  many  nations  and  our  farmers  are  sorely  pressed  by  the 
competition  of  agricultural  products  which  cheap  and  rapid  com- 
munication pushes  to  the  front  in  all  markets  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  To  successfully  withstand  this  formidable  rivalry,  our 
countrymen  need,  and  it  is  hoped  will  here  find,  thai  fundamental 
instruction  which  is  founded  on  the  widest  and  best  experience  of 
mankind." 

Thus  we  see  that  the  arguments  that  were  used  for  the  passage 
of  this  act  were  based  upon  agriculture  more  than  upon  other 
branches  of  learning,  for  we  had  at  that  time  no  institutions 
where  agriculture  was  taught  in  this  country  or  where  the  me- 
chanic arts  were  taught  to  the  extent  we  have  them  at  the  present 
time,  or  to  the  extent  that  was  desirable.  Furthermore,  it  is  but 
fair  to  interpret  the  law  as  illustrated  by  what  the  other  states 
have  done.  The  law  was  passed  that  each  state  might  receive  the 
benefits  it  conferred,  and  the  states  have  all  accepted,  I  believe, 
the  conditions  of  that  grant,  and  therefore  the  question  has  been 
discussed  in  each  and  every  state  in  the  Union.  It  has  been  be- 
fore  the  people,  and  our  people  are  a  nation  of  readers,  and  are 
tolerably  well-informed  in  respect  to  this  question,  and  their  opin- 
ion, which  we  were  told  the  other  day  was  a  misconception,  has 
been  formed  out  of  the  discussions  which  have  occurred  in  each 
and  every  state  as  to   what   disposition   should   be   made  of  the 


moneys  coming  to  it  by  virtue  of  the  land  grant  act   and-  subse- 
quent acts  of  Congress. 

Now  it  is  but  fair  to  interpret  this  law  by  what  the  states  have 
done  with  it.  We  find  there  have  been  colleges  established  in  two 
or  three  different  ways,  but  in  the  majority  of  the  states  the  act 
has  been  used  to  establish  a  college  where  agriculture  and  the 
mechanic  arts  have,  been  the  leading  branches  taught,  and  we  find 
where  that  is  the  case  the  colleges  are  more  successful,  that  they 
have  accomplished  more  for  the  people,  and  they  are  growing  and 
fulfilling  to  a  higher  extent  the  requirements  of  the  act. 

1  have  here  a  few  reports  from  the  various  colleges,  from  which 
I  will  quote  briefly  in  relation  to  their  organic  law. 

Section  8.  The  design  of  the  institution  is  to  afford  practical  instruction  in 
agriculture  and  the  natural  sciences  connected  therewith,  and  also  the  sciences 
which  bear  directly  upon  all  industrial  arts  and  pursuits.  The  course  of  in- 
struction shall  embrace  the  English  language  and  literature,  mathematics, 
military  tactics,  civil  engineering,  agricultural  chemistry,  animal  and  vege- 
table anatomy  and  physiology,  the  veterinary  art,  entomology,  geology  and 
such  other  natural  sciences  as  may  be  prescribed,  political  and  rural  and 
household  economy,  horticulture,  moral  philosophj^,  history,  book-keeping, 
and  especially  the  application  of  science  and  the  mechanic's  arts  to  practical 
agriculture  in  the  field.  A  full  course  of  study  in  the  institution  shall  em- 
brace not  less  than  four  years,  and  the  college  year  shall  consist  of  not  less 
than  nine  calendar  months,  which  may  be  divided  into  terms  by  the  board  of 
directors  as  in  their  judgment  will  but  secure  the  objects  for  which  the  college 
was  founded. — JSFortli  Dakota  Agricultural  College,  Fargo,  North  Dakota. 

Section  13.  As  soon  as  suitable  buildings  can  be  erected  and  furnished,  a 
school  shall  be  established  and  shall  be  known  by  the  name  and  style  of  "  The 
State  Agricultural  College."  The  design  of  the  institution  is  to  afford 
thorough  instruction  in  agriculture,  and  the  natural  sciences  connected  there- 
with. To  effect  that  object  most  completely,  the  institution  shall  combine 
physical  with  intellectual  education,  and  shall  be  a  high  seminary  of  learning, 
in  which  the  graduates  of  the  common  schools,  of  both  sexes,  can  commence, 
pursue  and  finish  a  course  of  study,  terminating  in  thorough  theoretical  and 


8 

practical  instruction  in  those  sciences  and  arts  which   bear  directly   upon 
agriculture  and  kindred  industrial  pursuits. 

Three  hours  of  each  day  shall  be  devoted  by  every  male  student  of  the 
college  to  labor  on  the  farm;  and  every  female  student  shall  devote  three 
hours  of  each  day  to  labor  in  such  department  of  work  as  may  be  assigned 
them  by  the  board  and  faculty ;  and  no  one  shall  be  exempt  except  for  physi- 
cal disability.  The  hours  of  labor  may  be  increased  to  four  hours  or  dimin- 
ished to  two  hours. — State  Agricultural  College^  Fort  Collins^  Colorado. 

The  trustees  may  appoint,  also,  the  corresponding  secretary,  whose  duty  it 
shall  be,  under  the  direction  or  with  the  approval  of  the  trustees,  to  issue 
circulars,  directions  for  procuring  needful  materials  for  conducting  experi- 
ments, and  dieting  instructive  Information  from  persons  in  various  counties 
selected  for  that  purpose,  and  skilled  in  any  branch  of  agriculture,  mechanical, 
and  industrial  arc;  and  to  do  all  other  acts  needful  to  enable  him  to  prepare 
an  annual  report  regarding  the  progress  of  the  University,  in  eacli  depart- 
ment thereof — recording  any  improvements  and  experiments  made,  with  their 
costs  and  results,  and  such  other  matters,  including  state,  industrial,  and 
economical  statistics,  as  may  be  supposed  useful ;  not  less  than  five  thousand 
copies  of  which  reports  shall  be  published  annually. 

Section  7.  The  trustees  shall  have  power  to  provide  the  requisite  build- 
ings, apparatus  and  conveniences ;  to  fix  the  rates  for  tuition ;  to  appoint  such 
professors  and  instructors,  and  establish  and  provide  for  the  management  of 
such  model  farms,  model  art,  and  other  departments  and  professorships,  as 
may  be  required  to  teach,  in  the  most  thorough  manner,  such  branches  of 
learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  and  military  tactics, 
without  excluding  other  scientific  and  classical  studies. —  University  of  Illinois. 

Section  4988.  This  institution  shall  combine  physical  with  intellectual 
education,  and  shall  be  a  high  seminary  of  learning  in  which  the  graduate  of 
the  common  schools  can  .commence,  pursue,  and  finish  a  course  of  study 
terminating  in  thorough  theoretic  and  practical  instruction  in  those  sciences 
and  arts  which  bear  directly  upon  agriculture  and  kindred  industrial  pursuits. 

Section  4990.  The  course  of  instruction  shall  embrace  tlie  English  lan- 
guage and  literature,  mathematics,  civil  engineering,  agricultural  chemistry, 
animal  and  vegetable  anatomy  and  physiology,  the  veterinary  art,  entomology, 
geology,  and  such  other  natural  sciences  as  may  be  prescribed;  technology, 
political,  rural,  and  household  economy,  horticulture,  moral  philosophy, 
history,  book-keeping,  and  es]3ecially  the  application  of  science  and  the  me- 
chanic arts  to  practical  agriculture. — Michigan  Agricultural  College. 


9 

Thus  we  see,  as  illustrated  by  these  colleges  established  by  the 
various  states,  what  the  idea  was — not  in  this  state,  not  in  one  or 
two  other  states,  but  in  many  states  of  the  Union — what  the  pop- 
ular idea  was  as  to  the  institutions  which  should  be  established 
under  this  act  of  1862 :  That  institutions  should  be  founded  in 
which  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  should  be  the  leading 
branches  taught  in  full  accordance  with  the  law. 

2d.  The  action  of  the  State.  Tliis  act  was  passed  during  troub- 
lous times,  when  there  was  war  in  the  land,  when  the  popular 
mind  was  excited  and  stirred  over  sectional  difficulties,  when  our 
finances  were  straitened,  and  when  there  was  not  in  this  State  a 
feeling  to  undertake  a  new  enterprise.  When  this  subject  came 
before  the  General  Assembly,  as  to  what  should  be  done  with  this 
land  grant  fund  (the  act  stated  that  five  years  was  the  limit  of 
time  in  which  a  state  could  avail  itself  of  the  benefits  of  the  act), 
I  have  been  told  but  one  man  advocated  a  separate  school ;  the 
feeling  was  that  the  money  could  best  be  applied  to  the  interests 
of  the  State  by  making  this  arrangement  which  now  exists  with 
Brown  University.  We  were  told  the  other  day  that  this  arrange- 
ment was  unlawful,  illegal  in  the  opinion  of  the  speaker :  it  has 
been  my  own  opinion  for  some  time  that  the  State  stepped  beyond 
the  bounds  of  right  and  justice  in  making  the  arrangement  which 
it  did  with  Brown  University.  The  act  itself  stipulates  that  the 
money  is  to  be  used  for  the  founding  of  an  institution  for  certain 
purposes ;  the  State  made  an  arrangement  by  which  it  disposed  of 
the  fund  and  the  interest  of  that  fund  for  a  different  purpose — for 
scholarships — and  it  seems  to^me  the  two  are  not  in  harmony,  and 
that  the  State  did  not  strictly  carry  out  the  intention  of  Congress, 
And  although  I  am  not  versed  in  points  of  law,"  it  seems  to  me 
that  if  this  action  of  the  General  Assembl}^  was  illegal  that  it  is 
still  illegal,  and  if  illegal  is  invalid. 


10 

Further,  there  was  an  agreement  between  the  State  and  Brown 
University.  If  that  agreement  is  in  the  nature  of  a  contract,  and 
has  been  faithfully  kept  by  both  parties,  then,  according  to  the  law 
of  contracts,  it  is  entitled  to  stand.  If  it  has  been  violated,  then, 
according  to  the  law  of  contracts,  it  should  be  null  and  void.  What 
was  the  agreement  on  the  part  of  the  State  and  Brown  University? 
The  State  turned  over  all  its  interests  and  rights  in  the  land  grant 
funds  and  the  University  assumed  all  the  rights  and  duties  given 
by  the  act.  We  are  told  that  the  University  agreed  to  educate 
students  at,  at  first,  100,  after,  75  dollars  per  year ;  but  that,  it 
seems  to  us,  does  not  tell  the  story.  They  were  to  educate  stud- 
ents for  that  sum  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  act. 
The  act  required  that  studies  bearing  upon  agriculture  and  the 
mechanic  arts  were  to  be  the  leading  branches,  and  also  military 
tactics  should  be  taught.  Now  it  seems  to  me  that  Brown  Uni- 
versity in  accepting  this  trust  accepted  something  that  she  never 
has,  cannot,  and  never  will  execute.  She  has  never  been  a  univer- 
sity where  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  are  the  leading 
branches  taught,  and  the  requirement  as  to  teaching  military  tac- 
tics has  never  been  fulfilled ;  therefore  it  seems  to  me  that  this 
agreement,  if  in  the  nature  of  a  contract,  should  be  null  and 
void. 

At  two  different  times  committees  have  been  appointed  by  the 
General  Assembly  of  this  State  to  investigate  in  relation  to  the 
use  of  this  fund.  In  '69  the  Board  of  Education  reported  that  in 
their  opinion  neither  Brown  University  nor  the  State  were  fulfill-, 
ing  the  conditions  of  the  act : 

"  Are  of  the  opinion  that  the  intentions  of  Congress  have  not 
been  carried  out  in  good  faith  by  either  Rhode  Island  or  Brown 
University." 

Again,  in  1871,  a  committee  was   appointed  who   reported  in 


Jl 

January,  1872,  "  that  in  1870  it  was  brought  to  the  notice  of  sev- 
eral members  of  the  General  Assembly  that  the  income  of  the 
land  grant  fund  was  likely  to  be  applied  to  mere  classical  college 
education. 

"  Upon  investigation  the  committee  find  that  the  University  has 
what  it  calls  in  its  catalogue  an  agricultural  and  scientific  depart- 
ment ;  that  it  is  evident  that  this  is  in  accordance  with  the  agree- 
ment, but  equally  evident  that  no  college  has  been  practically 
established,  and  that  omission  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  and  letter 
of  the  Act  of  Congress.  The  committee  recommend  that  the 
University  be  requested  to  organize  the  college  in  question  by 
appointing  some  capable  and  able  individual  who  shall  be  its  chief, 
etc,"  and  "  Finally,  your  committee  are  convinced  that  no  classical 
or  other  instruction  may  lawfully  be  imparted  at  the  cost  of  this 
foundation,  unless  the  same  be  conditioned  upon  the  faithful  pur- 
suit of  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Course,  etc." 

The  State  refused  for  four  years,  from  1869  to  1872,  to  appoint 
beneficiaries  to  the  University  for  reasons  above  stated. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  course  in  agriculture  was  organized 
at  the  college.  We  find  it  stated  that  the  University  assumed 
reluctantly  the  trust,  that  it  was  not  anxious  for  this  land,  but 
the  first  report  of  the  college  to  the  General  Assembly  states  that 
within  two  hours  of  the  passage  of  the  Senate  resolution,  the 
Hon.  Horace  Love,  as  agent  of  the  University,  and  the  Secretary 
of.  State  left  for  Washington,  and  that  as  soon  as  it  was  possible 
to  file  legal  claims  under  the  Land  Grant  Act  the  President  of  the 
University  and  the  Hon.  Horace  Love  were  waiting  outside  the 
land  office  at  Atchison  until  it  should  be  opened  and  the  claims 
could  be  filed.     Does  that  look  like  reluctance  ? 

We  are  told  that  the  funds  would  have  lapsed  unless  Brown 
University  had  stepped  forward  and  enabled  the  State   to   accept 


12 

the  fund.  But  we  find  later  that  the  time  was  twice  extended 
by  Congress  under  which  a  state  could  take  advantage  of  this 
Land  Grant  Act,  and  we  find  a  clause  was  put  in  enabling  the 
territories  becoming  states  to  establish  colleges,  and  as  late  as 
1888,  under  this  act,  the  State  Agricultural  College  of  Utah  was 
established,  and  territories  liable  to  become  states  are  establishing 
agricultural  colleges  under  this  same  land  grant  fund  to-day. 
Furthermore,  when  our  first  instalment  under  the  Hatch  Act 
lapsed,  because  we  were  not  able  to  use  it  within  the  time  specified 
by  the  law,  Congress  very  willingly  gave  it  back  to  to  us  under  a 
special  act  because  the  other  states  had  received  it.  There  is 
one  other  instance — Georgia.  The  governor  of  Georgia  did  not 
file  any  claims  prior  to  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature  ;  it  met, 
held  session  and  adjourned  without  having  taken  any  action  in 
relation  to  the  Hatch  Act.  After  the  legislature  adjourned  the 
governor  filed  the  necessary  papers,  and  the  Treasurer  of  the 
United  States  refused  to  acknowledge  the  papers,  on  the  ground 
that  the  governor  had  no  right  to  act  in  the  matter  subsequent  to 
the  meeting  of  the  legislature,  that  body  having  met  and  ad- 
journed, taking  no  action.  So  Georgia  entered  a  special  bill  in 
the  United  States  Congress  and  recovered  the  money  in  that  way. 

Now  I  submit,  could  not  this  State  have  done  in  the  case  of  the 
Land  Grant  Act  as  it  did  in  the  case  of  the  Hatch  Act?  I  believe 
that  if  no  agricultural  college  had  been  established  until  this  day 
it  could  have  gotten  the  money  under  the  Land  Grant  Act. 

We  are  told  that  the  State  has  no  jurisdiction  in  this  matter. 
But  the  beneficiaries  of  Brown  University  are  appointed  yearly  by  the 
General  Assembly,  at  this  time  the  majority  of  the  power  of  appoint- 
ment is  in  the  hands  of  the  State,  the  University  makes  its  annual 
report  to  the  General  Assembly.  Has  the  State  no  jurisdiction  ? 
Has  the  State  no  authority  in  this  matter? 


13 

Then,  if  the  supposition  is  correct  that  the  State  acted  illegally,  if 
it  can  be  conclusively  shown,  as  I  think  it  can,  that  the  contract  has 
not  been  kept  to  tlie  letter  on  the  part  of  the  University,  that  the 
contract  is  not  valid,  has  the  State  no  jurisdiction  in  this  matter  ? 

But  we  believe  that  the  citizens  of  this  State,  the  industrial 
classes  who  spend  their  days  in  association  with  sand  and  grit,  will 
prefer  to  carry  this  matter  to  the  highest  tribunal  of  this  country 
or  the  halls  of  Congress,  rather  than  that  the  benefits  to  come 
from  this  act  shall  be  used  for  the  future  as  they  have  been  in  the 
past  twenty-five  years. 

We  are  not  alone  in  this  matter. 

In  a  circular  issued  by  the  Association  of  American  Colleges 
and  Experiment  Stations  we  read  : 

1.  "  The  first  annuity  under  the  New  Morrill  Act  has  now  been  actually  paid, 
or  ordered  paid,  to  all  the  states,  excepting  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Georgia, 
Idaho,  Louisiana,  Maine,  Missouri,  Ehode  Island,  South  Carolina,  West  Vir- 
ginia and  Washington — (11). 

2.  "In  the  cases  of  several  of  the  states  named,  recent  acts  of  Legislatures 
will  enable  the  payments  to  be  made  soon.  In  others  a  disagreement  exists 
between  the  states  and  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  which  will  probably 
have  to  be  referred  to  the  next  Congress. 

3.  "  The  second  annuity  ($16,000)  has  been  paid,  or  ordered  paid,  to  the 
states  of  Colorado,  Connecticut,  Delaware,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Maryland, 
Michigan,  Minnesota,  Nevada,  New  Hampshire,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  Tennes- 
see, Utah  and  Vermont — (16)." 

Therefore  you  see  Rhode  Island  is  not  the  only  State  where  the 
disposition  of  the  new  Morrill  Bill  funds  is  an  unsettled  question. 
And  beyond  this,  there  are  active  efforts  being  made  in  several 
states  to  separate  the  Agricultural  colleges  established  back  in 
1863  or  1864,  from  the  universities,  and  establish  what  is  popu- 
larly believed  to  be  the  best  institution  that  can  be  established 
under  that  act.      Here  in   New  England  we  have  Vermont  and 


14 

Connecticut ;  as  you  are  aware  they  have  made  quite  an  effort  to 
separate  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  colleges  from  the  Uni- 
versities, and  it  can  be  done,  and  I  do  not  think  it  requires  the 
seventh  son  of  a  seventh  son  to  prophesy  that  before  long  it  will 
be  done. 

I  will  say  further  with  relation  to  the  situation  in  Vermont, 
that  with  something  like  f  300,000  which  the  University  has  re- 
ceived under  this  act  in  twenty-five  years,  they  have  not  graduated 
one  single  student  in  agriculture,  have  not  given  one  diploma  in 
agriculture,  and  in  the  mechanical  department  but  fifty  or  sixty. 
In  Connecticut  about  $205,000  I  believe  has  been  the  income  of 
the  Sheffield  Scientific  School  under  the  Act,  and  this  has  been 
pointed  out  as  a  model  institution,  but  there  have  been  but  nine 
graduates  in  agriculture — how  many  in  the  mechanic  arts  I  am 
not  aware.  At  the  Storrs  School,  Mansfield,  Conn.,  there  have 
been  graduated  more  than  sixty  pupils  in  the  few  years  since  its 
organization,  and  there  have  been  many  who  have  not  graduated. 
It  has  been  patronized  by  the  people,  and  the  people  of  Connecti- 
cut now  demand  that  the  college  established  under  the  Land 
Grant  shall  be  transferred  from  Yale  College  to  Storrs  School, 
at  Mansfield,  and  made  independent.  ^In  Missouri  we  find  the 
same  thing  ;  there,  a  committee  has  been  appointed  to  investigate 
the  condition  of  the  Agricultural  College  connected  with  the 
University  at  Columbus.     They  report: 

"  Despite  all  the  advantages  offered,  however,  this  department 
is  not  now  and  never  has  been  what  was  contemplated  or  is  now 
desired  by  either  the  legislature  or- the  agricultural  class.  The 
Agricultural  College,  as  a  department  of  the  University,  is  so 
overshadowed  by  the  other  departments,  that  the  attendance  has 
always  been  nominal  and  the  benefits  derived  very  meagre,  aside 
from  the  work  accomplished  at  the  government  experimental 
station.     We   do  not  believe  the  ends  sought  by  the  creation  of 


15 

the  Agricultural  College  can  ever  be  accomplished  so  long  as  it 
remains  a  department  of  the  University  under  the  present  plan, 
and  recommend  that  it  be  separated  therefrom  and  made  an  inde- 
pendent institution,  and  that  suitable  college  buildings  and  a  club 
house  should  be  erected  on  the  farm,  and  the  college  there  con- 
ducted in  connection  with  the  experimental  station." 

We  find  also  that  the  attorney  general  of  Missouri  has  given  it 
as  his  opinion,  that  it  is  perfectly  legal  for  the  State  to  do  this. 
He  says, 

"  Now  I  think  it  appears  from  the  authorities  hereinafter  cited, 
that  the  State  University,  with  all  of  its  departments  is  subject  to 
the  direction  and  control  of  the  legislature  ;  that  the  legislature 
has  the  authority  to  change  the  location  of  the  University,  or  of 
any  of  its  departments  ;  and  that  one  General  Assembly  cannot 
deprive  a  subsequent  General  Assembly  of  this  authority." 

During  the  past  summer  Brown  University  through  its  corpora- 
tion took  action  in  relation  to  the  1862  fund,  tendering  it  to  the 
State  through  the  appointment  of  a  committee,  and  through  a 
letter  from  the  President  of  the  University  to  the  State's  Chief 
Executive,  offering  to  return  this  fund  to  the  State.  The  date  of 
the  action  of  that  board  was  three  days  after  the  passage  of  the 
new  Morrill  Bill,  the  bill  being  passed  the  30th  of  August,  and 
the  meeting  of  the  University  the  3d  of  September.  Now  I  sub- 
mit whether  Brown  University  is  not  in  honor  bound  to  abide  by 
its  action  at  that  time.  ■  As  late  as  last  fall  on  a  trip  through  the 
West,  I  received  congratulations  on  all  sides,  for  the  noble  stand 
Brown  University  had  taken  in  this  matter.  One  man  said,  "  I 
want  to  take  your  President  Andrews  by  the  hand  for  the  noble 
stand  he  has  taken  in  relation  to  this  fund,"  showing  the  feeling 
of  the  people  of  the  country  in  relation  to  this  matter,  and  their 


16 

feeling  that  the  connection  of  the  fund  with  a  classical  university 
has  not  been  in  the  line  of  accomplishing  the  results  contemplated 
by  the  Land  Grant  Act. 

Why  should  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  be  separ- 
ated from  the  University  ?  The  design  as  given  in  this  brief  (a 
pamphlet  issued  by  the  University  authorities)  as  to  what  shall 
be  done  with  the  new  Morrill  fund,  does  not  cover  the  appropria- 
tion of  all  the  funds  for  scholarships.  Under  the  1862  act  all  the 
funds  were  to  be  expended  in  scholarships,  and  we  are  told  that 
the  University  has  received  no  direct  benefit  from  these  funds, 
but  under  the  new  law  a  portion  of  the  funds  may  be  used  for 
"  facilities  for  instruction."  Now  such  funds  used  for  "  facilities 
for  instruction "  become  private  property,  become  the  property 
of  the  corporation.  If  100  scholarships  are  to  be  granted  by  the 
University  with  a  tuition  fee  of  $150,  that  is  $15,000,  which 
leaves  $10,000  annually  for  investment  in  "  facilities  for  instruc- 
tion," and  that  becomes  the  private  property  of  the  corporation — 
no  longer  the  property  of  the  State. 

The  subject  of  taxation  has  been  discussed  in  this  brief.  Now 
it  seems  to  me  that  Brown  University  can  hardly  afford  to  bring 
up  the  subject  of  taxation.  You  know  she  has  an  iron-clad 
charter,  that  her  property  is  exempt  from  taxation  for  something 
like  a  million  dollars.  We  hear  that  Yale  University,  through  a 
law  passed  this,  year  in  Connecticut,  is  to  pay  $42,000  now  in 
taxes.  We  know  that  Brown  University  enjoys  great  advantages 
in  relation  to  taxation,  and  that  the  freedom  from  taxation  of  its 
officers  and  professors  to  the  extent  of  $10,000  worth  of  property 
to  each,  or  his  family,  amounts  to  quite  a  sum  of  money.  We  do 
not  believe  that  Brown  University  can  afford  to  bring  up  this 
question  of  taxation. 

It  is  stated  that  the  Michigan  Agricultural  College  has  cost  its 
State  not  less  than  $800,000.     Now  Michigan  is  agricultural  and 


17 

mechanical;  in  tlie  mechanical  department  the  students  have  ac- 
complished considerable  in  the  way  of  work,  the  workshops  are 
large,  and  somewhere  in  its  report  is  specified  the  number  of 
engines  built,  the  work  that  has  been  done  in  electricity,  etc. 
'  In  Massachusetts  they  have  done  nothing  in  mechanics  from 
the  fact  that  one-third  of  the  fund  was  given  to  the  Institute  of 
Technology  and  two-thirds  to  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  Col- 
lege. 

Now  this  money  expended  in  Massachusetts  and  Michigan  has 
not  been  expended  in  one  year.  Michigan  has  been  organized 
since  1857,  Massachusetts  since  about  1864.  They  have  had  these 
years  to  grow ;  it  has  been  during  all  of  these  years  that  this 
money  has  been  expended,  and  if  you  will  give  us  the  same  length 
of  time  in  thig  State  to  organize  an  Agricultural  and  Mechanical 
college,  and  give  us  what  Brown  University  asks,  $10,000  from 
the  State  Treasury  annually,  and  the  income  of  these  Congres- 
sional Grants,  we  will  have  more  money  at  the  end  of  25  years 
than  has  been  expended  in  Michigan  or  Massachusetts,  and  it  won't 
cost  the  farmers  a  single  cent  more  for  this  separate  plant,  this 
Agricultural  and  Mechanical  college,  than  for  only  a  department 
in  the  University,  and  in  the  end  the  college  will  be  the  property 
of  the  Slate,  while  the  department  would  be  the  property  of  a  pri- 
vate corporation. 

3rd.  The  institutions  established  under  this  Land  Grant  Act 
may  be  classed  under  three  heads :  1st,  purely  agricultural,  2d, 
purely  agricultural  and  mechanical,  and  3d,  universities  where 
agriculture  and  mechanics  have  been  made  departments  of  previ- 
ously existing  classical  colleges.  As  institutions  of  the  first  kind, 
we  have  Massachusetts,  of  the  second  kind,  Michigan,  and  of  the 
third  kind  we  have  Vermont,  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut.  In 
the  institutions  established  in  other  states,  there  are  quite  a  num- 
ber that  are  universities  established  under  the  Land  Grant  act 


18 

primarily,  but  in  which  the  departments  of  the  sciences  and  clas- 
sics have  outgrown  the  agricultural  department,  and  they  have  be- 
come something  like  the  universities  of  the  Bast,  although  not  the 
same,  because  the  agricultural  departments  have  not  been  crowded 
completely  out.  In  New  ]Tampshire  the  situation  has  been  dif- 
ferent from  that  in  any  other  state,  as  the  Agricultural  college 
while  connected  with  the  university  has  been  separate  from  it,  the 
agricultural  and  mechanical  students  having  their  own  dormi- 
tories, shops  and  laboratories  and  have  mingled  very  little  with 
the  classical  students  in  any  way  ;  but  we  find  there  is  now  a  pro- 
ject— if  the  bill  has  not  already  passed  the  General  Assembly — to 
separate  the  Agricultural  college  from  Dartmouth  college,  and 
avail  itself  of  an  offer  made  by  a  wealthy  citizen  of  New  Hampshire, 
who  in  18  years  will  confer  upon  the  Agricultural  college  quite  a 
property.  There  is  yet  18  years  before  this  endowment  is  avail- 
able, yet  we  find  that  already  they  are  deeming  it  wise  to  separate 
their  Agricultural  college  from  Dartmouth, 

Now  as  to  these  institutions.  When  we  celebrate  in  a  few  years 
the  greatest  fair  that  the  world  has  ever  known,  and  when  our  friends 
from  over  the  ocean  come  here  to  look  about  and  we  are  asked  to 
point  out  the  agricultural  and  mechanical  institutions  of  learning 
of  this  country,  to  which  institutions  shall  we  point  with  pride  and 
designate  as  the  best  ?  Will  it  not  be  Michigan  and  Massachusetts 
as  the  colleges  which  stand  foremost  as  agricultural  and  me- 
chanical ?  We  will  not  point  to  such  institutions  as  Vermont  and 
the  Sheffield  Scientific  School  as  worthiest  of  being  patterned 
after.  So  here  in  Rhode  Island  as  we  come  to  a  decision  as  to 
what  shall  be  done  with  this  money,  what  are  we  to  pattern  after  ? 
Shall  we  not  take  the  very  best  institution  that  we  can  find  for  a 
copy,  and  strive  to  have  the  very  best  one  that  can  be  established 
in  the  State  of  Rhode  Island  with  the  means  which  we  have  at 
our  disposal  ?  Shall  we  be  content  with  something  which  has  not, 
does  not  and  will  never  accomplish  its  purpose  ? 


19 

Shall  we  look  to  what  the  University  says  it  should  do  (not 
what  it  will  do) :  "  1st.  Keep  a  separate  account  of  these  moneys, 
to  be  published  yearly,  showing  in  detail  the  objects  for  which 
they  are  expended."     Any  institution  would  be  obliged  to  do  this. 

"  2d.  To  enlarge  the  instruction  already  given  by  it  in  Pure 
Mathematics,^ Civil  Engineering,  Physics,  Meteorology,  Agricultu- 
ral Chemistry,  Agricultural  Botany,  Agricultural  Zoology  and 
Agriculture  Proper."  Agriculture  Proper  is  the  last  thing  men- 
tioned. Now  in  the  Land  Grant  bill  agriculture  is  named  first ;  it 
states  also  that  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  are  to  be  the  lead- 
ing brandies  taught,  while  in  this  brief  great  stress  is  placed  upon 
the  fact  that  it  is  to  be  a  "  liberal  and  practical  education." 
How  can  a  fair  interpretation  of  the  act  emphasize  the  "  liberal 
and  practical  "  education  to  the  complete  exclusion  of  the  clause 
which  speaks  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  as  the  lead- 
ing" branches  ? 

"  3d.  To  put  in  a  complete  plant  for  instruction  in  Electricity." 
Some  knowledge  of  this  subject  is  desirable  for  our  young  men, 
but  I  think  there  are  many  things  the  young  men  from  the  indus- 
trial classes  need  to  know  before  we  go  into  electricity  so  com- 
pletely and  thoroughly  as  to  establish  a  plant  for  that  special 
purpose. 

"  4.  To  introduce  high  grade  special  instruction  in  Veterinary 
Science,  Mechanical  Engineering,  Electrical  Engineering,  the 
English  Language,  Industrial  Design,  Public  Finance  and  Admin- 
istration, thus  instituting-,  by  means  of  these  studies  and  the 
above,  with  others,  a  distinct  and  elaborate  School  of  Applied 
Science" 

Is  that  what  the  Act  calls  for  ?  Is  that  what  the  Act  of  1862 
requires  ?  And  the  new  Morrill  Bill  is  an  Act  in  amendment  of 
that  Act. 


20 

"  5.  To  give  Rhode  Island  youth  one  hundred  free  scholar- 
ships, each  covering  all  the  holder's  expenses  for  instruction  (but 
not  cost  of  materials  in  laboratories),  in  any  department  of  the 
University^  whether  for  a  longer  or  a  shorter  period  of  time." 
Under  the  old  act  we  are  told  that  about  two  hundred  young  men 
hare  been  educated  as  the  State's  beneficiaries.  We  are  also  told' 
here  that,  "  the  University  itself  has  received  no  tangible  financial 
aid  from  the  Land  fund  placed  in  its  possession.  Not  a  cent  of 
the  interest  of  this  has  gone  to  purchase  the  new  instruction  called 
for  by  the  agreement  with  the  State.  All  money  thus  received 
had  to  be  paid  out  in  scholarships.  The  entire  advantage  has 
thus  accrued  to  the  citizens  of  the  State,  enabling  them  to  gain  a 
liberal  education  for  their  sons  more  easily  than  they  could  other- 
wise have  done.  So  far  as  any  students  have  been  brought  to  the 
University  who  would  not  have  been  there  but  for  this  special  aid, 
the  tuition  receipts  may  have  been  somewhat  increased',  but  prob- 
ably not.  The  price  at  which  students  have  been  received  has 
certainly  not  exceeded  the  cost  of  instructing  them,  and  has 
probably  been  much  below  it."  Now  that  is  an  admission  on  the 
part  of  Brown  University  that  it  has  not,  in  its  opinion,  gained 
any  students  through  the  benefit  of  these  scholarships  that  they 
would  not  have  had  without  the  scholarships.  Now  I  submit  if 
they  would  have  gotten  their  education  without  the  scholarships, 
what  benefit  has  the  State  obtained  ?  All  the  benefit  has  been  to 
the  people  who  educated  them,  in  that  it  has  put  just  so  much 
money  into  their  pockets.  Now  under  the  new  Morrill  Bill,  the 
University  proposes  to  give  "  one  hundred  free  scholarships  in 
any  department  of  the  University,  whether  for  a  longer  or 
shorter  time."  Now  does  Brown  University  expect  if  she  has 
the  funds  to  get  that  one  hundred  students  beyond  the  number 
of  those  who  will  go  to  the  University  under  the  present  con- 
ditions ?    If  so,  it  will  be  a  benefit  to  the  State,  but  if  we  are 


21 

to  judge  by  the  past  and  by  what  Brown  University  acknowledges 
has  been  the  result  in  the  past,  then  we  are  putting  so  much 
money  into  the  pockets  of  the  parents  of  the  young  men  who 
would  get  an  education  there  at  any  rate.  Brown  University  out 
of  its.  whole  number  of  students,  has  only  about  190  from  this 
State.  Outside  of  the  cities  and  their  immediate  suburbs,  I  be- 
lieve there  are  twenty-eight.  We  have  more  at  our  Agricultui-al 
School  at  Kingston,  than  Brown  University  has  from  the  country 
sections  of  the  State. 

Now  in  my  opinion,  the  benefits  of  this  Act  of  Congress  are  de- 
signed for  something  other  than  the  education  of  these  young  men 
under  these  scholarships.  I  believe  that  it  is  for  the  establishment 
of  such  an  institution  as  shall  place  within  the  reach  of  the  indus- 
trial classes  of  this  State  a  liberal  and  practical  education.  Now 
in  Brown  University  the  standard  of  admission  is  such  that  there 
are  few  students  coming  from  our  common  schools  who  can  re- 
ceive the  benefit  of  an  education  there  without  considerable  time 
and  expense  in  the  way  of  preparatory  studies.  We  believe  that 
this  fund  is  for  the  establishment  of  an  institution  where  expen- 
sive fitting  is  not  necessary  and  will  not  debar  students  from 
striving  to  receive  the  benefits  of  this  fund.  In  other  words  that 
the  fund  is  not  designed  for  scholarships,  but  designed  to  support 
and  endow  an  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  and  we  be- 
lieve that  such  a  disposal  of  the  funds  will  best  accomplish  the 
design  of  Congress  in  the  passage  of  this  Act. 

Last  of  all  we  come  to  the  consideration  of  the  fourth  topic, 
— the  people,  the  industrial  classes  of  the  State.  For  them  the 
act  was  designed  and  for  their  benefit  it  was  passed.  They  speak 
in  emphatic,  unequivocal  terms  through  the  numerous  petitions  pre- 
sented to  this  General  Assembly  during  its  present  session.  There 
are  petitions  from  the  legal  voters  of  the  State,  from  the  Horticul- 
tural Society,  from  the  farmers'  organizations  and  from  the  town 


22 

councils,  acting  in  an  official  capacity,  of  more  than  three-fourths 
of  the  thirty-two  towns  of  the  State,  asking  that  these  funds  be 
used  to  establish  a  separate  agricultural  and  mechanical  college. 
The  people  have  therein  expressed  their  dissatisfaction  with  the 
results  attained  in  the  past  twenty-seven  years  by  Brown  Univer- 
sity as  an  agricultural  college  and  their  desire  for  and  their  belief 
that  the  best  interests  of  the  State  will  be  served  by  the  establish- 
ment of  a  separate  agricultural  and  mechanical  college. 

To  you,  Gentlemen  of  this  Commission,  and  to  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  State,  do  the  people  look  to  right  the  wrong  of  '63, 
and  reconstruct  and  enlarge  the  State  Agricultural  School  into  the 
State  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College,  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  the  Act  of  '62,  and  thus  endow  it  with  the  Con- 
gressional funds  for  "  The  liberal  and  practical  education  of  the 
industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and  professions  of  life." 

John  H.  Washburn,  Ph.  D.,  Principal  of  the  State 
Agricultural  School,  spoke  as  follows  : 

Your  Excellency  and  gentlemen  of  the  Commission : 

I  feel  that  this  is  a  matter  which  belongs  chiefly  to  the  citizens 
of  the  State,  and  they  are  here  to  represent  their  side  of  the  case, 
and  that  my  remarks  should  be  short,  because  I  am  merely  a  ser- 
vant of  the  Agricultural  School.  Whatever  I  shall  say  in  con- 
nection with  the  Agricultural  Department  of  Brown  University, 
should  not  be  considered  an  attack  upon  the  University.  It  is 
our  belief,  however,  that  as  the  Agricultural  College  of  the  State, 
she  has  been  and  would  be  a  failure.  You,  gentlemen,  who  rep- 
resent the  institution  at  Kingston,  whatever  you  do,  do  not  allow 
the  combination  of  the  classical,  with  the  Agricultural  Institution, 
where  the  students  must  occupy  the  same  recitation  rooms.  It  is 
a  fact  that  the  two  are  incompatible.     You  cannot  so,  get  the  best 


results.  In  the  Agricultural  school  or  college  the  students  must 
do  practical  work,  the  very  fact  of  their  doing  practical  work 
gives  them,  in  the  eyes  of  other  students,  a  lower  caste.  Of 
course  it  is  argued  that  it  does  not ;  but  it  has  been  shown,  by 
the  last  speaker,  that  where  Agricultural  and  Classical  Institu- 
tions have  been  united,  the  Agricultural  is  overshadowed  by  the 
Classical. 

Again,  the  atmosphere  of  Brown  University  is  not  in  sympa- 
thy with  agriculture  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  past  spirit  of  tlie  Uni- 
versity with  regard  to  agriculture,  has  been  one  of  continued 
contempt.  People  interested  in  agricultural  education  came 
together  and  decided  that  the  University  should  not  use  the  Hatch 
funds  as  they  had  used  the  funds  of  the  1862  Land  Grant  Act. 
They  considered  it  a  perversion  of  these  funds,  and  it  was  their 
position  which  created  the  noble  institution  at  Kingston,  with  its 
$100,000  represented  in  buildings,  farm,  agricultural  implements, 
chemical,  physical  and  other  apparatus. 

Now  the  very  fact  of  the  existence  of  that  institution,  it  seems 
to  me,  proves  that  the  University  had  violated  what  the  people 
supposed  to  be  the  intention  of  the  1862  Land  Grant  Act.  They 
wanted  an  institution  where  their  young  men  could  be  instructed 
in  mechanics  and  agriculture.  That  was  the  reason  of  the  build- 
ing of  that  Institution.  You  may  say  the  Institution  was  founded 
to  teach  agriculture.  True,  but  from  the  very  beginning  we  have 
taught  mechanics,  and  we  intend  to  be  a  Mechanical  College  be- 
cause we  cannot  teach  agriculture  without  teaching  agricultural 
mechanics.  The  Institution  at  Kingston  is  capable  of  carrying 
out  in  every  way  the  1862  Land  Grant  Act,  and  the  new  Morrill 
Bill  of  1890. 

If  the  State  saw  fit  to  remove  the  Agricultural  College  from 
Brown  University  to  Kingston,  making  that  an  Agricultural  and 
Mechanical  College,  we  would  be  enabled  to  take   advantage  of 


24 

the  United  States  law,  which  grants  us  a  Professor  of  Military- 
Science  and  Tactics.  This  is  a  privilege  which  Brown  might 
have  had  for  the  last  twenty  years,  but  has  not  enjoyed,  and  has 
not  seemed  to  want.  This  Institution,  under  the  Land  Grant  Act 
of  1862,  can  have  delegated  from  West  Point  an  officer  to  teach 
military  science,  such  as  is  taught  at  the  Institute  of  Technology 
in  Boston  and  other  places.  That  would  be  to  us  a  very  decided 
advantage.  Our  present  class  numbers  thirty-two,  but  when  the 
school  shall  have  entered  its  full  number,  there  will  be  over  one 
hundred  young  men.  If  we  could  have  them  taught  military 
science  three  hours  a  week  for  three  years,  what  a  decided  benefit 
to  the  State  this  would  be. 

I  would  call  your  attention  to  this  pamphlet,  given  to  us  at  the 
hearing  of  the  University.  On  page  9,  section  3,  we  read  :  "  The 
school  at  Kingston,  whatever  form  it  takes,  while  the  entire 
State  will  be  taxed  for  it,  can  never  benefit  to  any  extent,  our 
great  city  and  factory  communities.  Providence,  Pawtucket,  New- 
port, Woonsocket,  Bristol  and  Warren,  embracing  72.06  per  cent, 
of  the  entire  valuation  of  the  State,  would  get  practically  nothing 
out  of  it."  Nothing  could  be  more  untrue  than  that.  It  is  from 
Providence,  Pawtucket,  Newport,  Bristol  and  Warren  that  I  am 
constantly  receiving  letters  of  inquiry  about  our  school.  I  have 
to-day  an  inquiry  from  the  Superintendent  of  Schools  in  Provi- 
dence, regarding  a  young  man,  which  I  think  will  result  in  an  ap- 
plication. I  have  had  a  number  of  inquiries  from  young  men  here 
in  Providence,  and  from  the  village  communities,  and  when  we 
have  our  three  classes,  probably  over  50  per  cent,  will  come  from 
the  city  and  village  communities.  You  know  there  is  a  constant 
influx  from  the  city  to  the  country,  and  from  the  country  back  to 
the  city,  and  it  would  be  most  natural  to  suppose  that  the  young 
men  from  the  city  who  are  going  to  be  farmers,  have  more  need  of 
an  agricultural  education  given  at  the  Agricultural  School  than 
the  country  youth. 


25 

The  University  says:  "Hardly  any  of  the  farmers  themselves 
desire  a  school  such  as  we  must  have  in  order  to  answer  the  pur- 
poses of  the  government  grants."  I  hardly  know  what  that 
means.  It  seems  to  me  the  school  to-day  answers  the  purposes  of 
the  government  grants  so  far  as  instruction  is  concerned.  Look- 
ing over  the  catalogues  of  the  Agricultural  Colleges  of  Utah, 
North  Dakota,  Kansas  and  Mississippi,  colleges  receiving  the 
Land  Grant  fund  of  1862  and  1890,  I  find  that  our  course  of 
study  is  as  advanced  as  theirs.  In  looking  at  the  catalogues  of 
the  Mechanical  and  Agricultural  Colleges  of  Texas,  Colorado, 
Delaware,  Maine  and  Massachusetts,  I  find  we  are  one  year 
below  them,  but  if  we  are  made  an  Agricultural  and  Mechanical 
College,  it  will  be  a  simple  thing  to  make  our  course  one  year 
longer,  and  be  on  a  footing  with  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical 
Colleges  of  the  whole  country.  From  the  fact  that  one  year  ago 
we  were  a  huckleberry  pasture,  and  have  now  a  class  which  has 
received  six  months  instruction,  and  we  have  buildings  and  equip- 
ments which  are  considered  by  all  most  excellent,  I  should 
suppose  that  we  could  become  an  Agricultural  and  Mechanical 
College,  capable  of  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  the  Land  Grant 
Act  in  the  highest  sense. 

The  University  pamphlet  has  one  or  two  statements  which  seem 
to  me  to  be  wrong.     It  says : 

"  It  is  a  very  great  error  to  suppose  that  the  grant  was  solely, 
or  even  primarily,  intended  to  increase  the  knoiuledge  of  agricul- 
ture, or  to  further  education  of  any  sort  among  the  agricultural 
population  in  particular.''''  A  good  deal  has  been  said  on  that 
subject  already.  But  our  common  sense  tells  us  that  this  grant 
was  to  further  agricultural  education  and  agricultural  and  me- 
chanical education  in  particular.  Why  did  the  United  States  send 
delegates  to  Europe  to  visit  mechanical  and  agricultural  institu- 


26 

tions,  if  it  was  not  to  get  what  ideas  they  could  towards  establish- 
ing such  institutions  in  this  country  ?  I  do  not  see  how  Brown 
University  can  conscientiously  keep  the  money  given  for  agricul- 
tural and  mechanical  purposes,  unless  she  gives  this  phase  to  the 
question,  that  the  fund  was  not  given  for  agricultural  and  mechani- 
cal purposes ;  but  how  she  comes  to  that  conclusion  I  am  sure  I 
cannot  understand. 

Here  is  something  which  perhaps  it  would  please  us  to  pay  some 
attention  to.     Brown  says  : 

"  While  Brown  University  would  doubtless  gladly  relinquish  all 
title  to  these  funds  were  such  a  course  possible  and  in  accord  with 
the  nation's  purpose  and  with  the  State's  best  interests,  it  ought 
not  to  do  this,  nor,  of  course,  can  any  citizen  of  the  State  desire 
that  it  should,  unless  these  conditions  can  be  fulfilled.  Not  only 
must  this  course  be  seen  to  be  legal,  but  there  must  be  a  practical 
certainty  that  the  State  would  be  able  to  administer  the  funds 
strictly  in  accordance  with  their  purpose  as  expressed  in  the  acts 
of  Congress  creating  them." 

Can  it  be  that  the  University  would  infer  that  the  State  is  not 
capable  of  conducting  an  agricultural  and  mechanical  college  with- 
out her  aid,  and  that  the  University  is  holding  this  money  until 
the  State  grows  and  becomes  able  to  conduct  a  mechanical  and 
agricultural  college  ?  Or,  can  it  be  that  she  means  that  the  man- 
agement of  the  Agricultural  School  at  Kingston  at  the  present 
time  is  not  possessed  of  sufficient  intelligence  to  use  that  money  ? 
That  is  not  what  your  agents,  the  trustees  appointed  by  the  State, 
will  say.  It  would  seem  that  the  State  and  not  the  University 
has  this  responsibility.  If  Brown  would  gladly  relinquish  this 
money,  we  would  gladly  accept  it,  because  we  are  not  after  it  i-e- 
luctantly,  as  Brown  is,  on  the  contrary  we  want  it  very  much  ;  we 
want  it  for  an  institution  which  is  such  an  institution  as  the  State 


2T 

wishes  to  have,  for  an  agricultural  and  mechanical  college  that 
will  take  the  young  men  from  the  district  schools  and  give  them  a 
practical  course  of  instruction  which  will  fit  them  for  life,  and  such 
a  course  ap  Brown  University,  with  her  present  course  of  instruc- 
tion, cannot  give.  If  we  are  to  compete  with  like  institutions  in 
our  sister  States,  we  want  this  money,  and  to  be  made  the  Agri- 
cultural and  Mechanical  College  of  Rhode  Island.  If  you  should 
close  the  doors  of  the  institution  at  Kingston  to-day,  how  many 
of  the  young  men  of  our  school  would  enter  the  agricultural  de- 
partment of  Brown  University  ?     I  say  not  one. 

This  money  will  give  us  means  to  have  an  institution  which 
will  give — not  what  Brown  proposes,  "  100  scholarships  in  any  de- 
partment of  the  University,"  (a  thing  which  I  question  her  right 
to  do)  but  free  tuition  to  all  young  men  and  women  of  Rhode 
Island. 

And  we  are  not  so  particular  about  a  graduate  course.  Next 
winter  we  are  to  have  a  course  for  farmers  called  A  Short  Agri- 
cultural Course,  where  young  men  from  the  farming  districts  may 
come  and  take  a  course  of  study  for  five,  six  or  twelve  weeks.  We 
want  an  institution  which  shall  fulfill  the  conditions  of  what  Brown 
University  is  pleased  to  term  the  "  popular  misconception  "  of  the 
Land  Grant  Act.  And  I  believe  we  are  in  a  condition  to  do  this 
much  better  than  Brown  University.  It  may  be  asked  why  can  we 
do  it  better ;  from  the  very  fact  of  our  position.  We  are  in  the 
country,  our  expenses  there  are  brought  down  to  a  very  lowest 
sum,  tuition  there  costs  nothing,  and  tuition  at  the  University, 
compared  with  nothing,  is  very  expensive.  The  rooms  will  cost 
$5  a  year,  (although  this  year  we  have  charged  no  room-rent)  our 
board  this  year  has  been  $3  a  week,  but  by  raising  our  own  vege- 
tables we  expect  to  get  it  down  to  f  2  or  $2  50  a  week,  and  excel- 
lent board  too.  Again,  being  connected  with  the  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station,  and  having  the  farm,  a  great  deal  of  experi- 


28 

mental  work  can  be  done  by  the  students.  The  expenses  of  some 
of  our  young  men  for  the  past  two  terms  have  been  not  more 
than  $20  for  books  and  board,  that  is,  they  have  worked  for  ten 
cents  an  hour  and  have  been  able  to  pay  all  expenses.  We  buy 
books  at  wholesale  and  sell  them  at  an  advance  of  only  what  it 
costs  us  for  the  expressing.  Our  idea  is  to  have  young  men  there 
whose  fathers  are  of  the  class  that  take  off  their  coats  and  get  a 
living,  men  who  cannot  afford  to  send  their  sons  where  they  will 
have  to  pay  1150  for  tuition.  We  have  young  men  who  can  come 
and  pay  one-half  or  two-thirds  of  their  board  by  work,  and  their 
fathers  or  friends  are  able  to  help  them  with  the  rest. 

I  would  like  to  say  one  thing  more  with  regard  to  this  pamphlet. 
It  says:  * 

"  Ninety-nine  per  cent,  of  the  studies  pursued  in  the  colleges 
most  devoted  to  agriculture  can  be  pursued  in  Brown  University." 

Well,  granted  that  Brown  University  teaches  chemistry — and 
I  will  say  here  that  I  have  a  greater  respect  for  her  course  in 
chemistry  than  for  the  course  given  by  any  other  institution  of 
which  I  know  in  this  country — while  it  teaches  astronomy  and 
all  things  which  she  teaches  in  common  with  other  institutions, 
still  ninety-nine  per  cent,  would  leave  but  one  per  cent,  for  agri- 
culture. Now  we  claim  at  Kingston  in  our  Junior  year  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  instruction  is  purely  agricultural ;  the  middle 
year  thirty  per  cent.  Men  are  at  practical  work  in  carpentering 
on  our  Veterinary  Hospital  four  afternoons  in  the  week,  and  at 
other  work  in  the  carpenter  shop,  where  there  is  an  excellent 
selection  of  carpenters'  tools — also  benches. 

Now  in  the  Senior  year  we  teach  forty-four  per  cent,  of  agri- 
cultural studies  which  are  not  taught  at  the  University  ;  they  are 
Veterinary  Science,  Agriculture,  Agricultural  Geology,  Forestry 
and  Landscape  Gardening,  Stock   Breeding,  Dairying — practical 


29 

Dairying  with  practical  work  by  students  in  the  laboratory ;  we 
hope  to  have  in  the  Senior  year  a  well  equipped  dairy  where  the 
young  men  can  go  and  learn  to  be  butter  makers.  Iron  work,  in- 
cluding horse  shoeing,  which  is  practical  agriculture,  together 
with  wheel-wright  work,  is  also  taught.  We  believe  that  as  a 
mechanical  college  we  can  point  with  pride  to  what  we  have 
already  done,  and  with  the  receival  of  the  new  funds  we  would 
enlarge  our  course  and  become  just  the  institution  the  State 
demands. 

It  was  clainfled  by  Brown  University  that  it  was  patriotic  senti- 
ment that  caused  them  to  accept  the  fund  of  1862,  and  they  are 
willing  upon  the  same  sentiment  to  accept  this  fund  of  1890.  It 
seems  to  me  that  they  could  better  exhibit  their  patriotic  senti- 
ment by  doing  the  will  of  the  people  as  clearly  indicated  in  the 
petitions  of  the  town  councils  of  more  than  three-fourths  of  the 
towns  of  the  State  to  your  Honorable  Commission  to  give  that 
fund  to  us  ;  also  many  other  petitions  representing  hundreds  of 
legal  voters,  the  best  men  from  Providence,  Pawtucket,  and  all 
parts  of  the  State,  requesting  you  to  give  that  fund  to  us  for  an 
Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College.  Now  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  patriotic  sentiment  of  Brown  can  be  exhibited  in  no  better 
way  than  in  helping  us  to  get  that  fund  and  bidding  us  "  God 
Speed." 

Our  institution  presents  its  cause  to  you,  not  through  any  law- 
yer or  counsel,  but  trusting  in  truth,  in  right  and  justice ;  trusting 
in  reward  of  honest  endeavor,  and  in  the  wisdom  of  the  General 
Assembly  to  do  the  very  best  it  can  for  the  interests  of  the  State. 

Mr.  Flagg. — There  was  one  point  about  which  I  meant  to 
speak.  We  find  in  this  pamphlet  a  statement  that  of  the  310  liv- 
ing graduates  of  Michigan  Agricultural  College  but  22  are 
farmers.     These  statistics  are  misleading,  to  say  the  least,  and  we 


m 

are  entirely  unable  to  determine  how  they  were  obtained.  From 
the  Catalogue  of  the  Michigan  Agricultural  College  for  1888-9 
we  quote  :  "  The  first  graduates,  seven  in  number,  left  the  college 
in  1861.  Since  that  time  434  more  have  graduated,  including  31 
of  the  Class  of  '88,  a  total  of  441  to  date." 

We  have  here  a  summary  of  the  occupations,  and  we  find  that 
there  are  93  classed  as  farmers,  horticulturists  11,  (and  this 
means  not  horticulturists  of  experiment  stations,  but  people  who 
are  engaged  in  fruit  raising),  also  5  classed  as  stock-men,  and 
who  come  under  the  general  head  of  farmers,  as  horticulturists 
would  be  classed  as  farmers.  I  will  read  the  list  here  properly 
engaged  in  agriculture :  Apiarists,  2  ;  experiment  station  direc- 
tors, 4 ;  experiment  station  employees,  8 ;  farmers,  93 ;  horti- 
culturists, 11  ;  professors  of  agriculture  and  related  sciences,  15 ; 
secretaries  of  State  boards  of  agriculture,  2  ;  stock-men,  5  ;  veter- 
inarians, 2.     Total,  142. 

In  relation  to  this  matter  I  have  a  letter  here  from  one  of  the 
professors  at  the  Michigan  Agricultural  College,  in  which  he 
says : 

"Practically  fifty  per  cent,  of  our  graduates  are  farmers  or  are  engaged  in 
similar  pursuits,  and  of  the  students  who  have  taken  partial  courses  the  per 
cent,  is  still  greater.  The  records  have  been  carefully  kept,  and  they  show- 
that  of  the  Class  of  1870,  for  instance,  the  per  cent,  of  farmers  was  larger  in 
1890  than  it  was  in  1880,  and  considerably  larger  than  it  was  in  1875.  Many 
of  our  students  have  comparatively  poor  parents:  they  work  their  way 
through  college,  and  as  they  are  without  means  on  graduating," they  engage 
in  teaching  or  in  some  similar  occupation  where  they  can  earn  more  money 
than  by  day  labor  on  a  farm.  As  soon  as  they  have  money  enough  they  buy 
a  farm. 

"  The  Catalogue  for  1890  shows  369  students  actually  in  attendance,  count- 
ing the  four  regular  classes  and  the  specials. 

"  The  spring  term  opens  to-morrow,  and  at  six  o'clock  to-night  there  were 
fully  one-third  more  students  enrolled  at  the  secretary's  office  than  at  the 
same  time  last  year.  The  total  number  of  graduates  is  about  500.  The  lar- 
gest class  numbered  about  45  graduates." 


31 

Just  one  point  more  :  We  have  had  an  Agricultural  College  in 
Rhode  Island  by  name  for  the  past  twenty-five  years,  in  that 
length  of  time  1  have  known,  personally,  of  six  or  eight  young 
men  whom  have  gone  from  this  State  to  other  states  to  get  their 
education,  when  if  we  had  had  such  an  Agricultural  College  as  the" 
law  requires,  they  would  have  got  their  education  in  this  State. 

Mr.  Bernon  E.  Helme  of  Kingston,  R.  I.,  was  the  next 
speaker.     Mr.  Helme  said  : 

As  has  been  stated  here,  the  people  of  the  State  are  very  much 
interested  in  this  matter  as  is  shown  by  the  petitions  wiiich  are 
before  the  Commission,  and  also  by  that  which  is  a  unique  feature, 
the  petitions  from  twenty-three  town  councils  ;  and  while  it  is 
sometimes  thought  that  petitions  mean  nothing,  and  that  any  one 
will  sign  a  petition,  these  petitions  from  the  town  councils  cannot 
be  classed  that  way,  because  I  do  not  think  that  there  would  be 
any  town  council  that  would  sign  a  petition  of  that  kind  if  it  was 
contrary  to  the  desires  of  the  town  which  it  represented.  Now 
these  petitions  and  these  people  ask  for  a  certain  definite  thing 
that  is,  that  the  school  at  South  Kingstown  be  made  the  Land 
Grant  College  of  this  State,  and  if  they  had  no  good  cause  for 
asking  this,  and  could  give  no  good  reasons  for  it,  it  would  be  an 
improper  thing  to  do,  but  they  can  give  good  reasons,  that  it  is 
the  right  thing  to  do. 

Now  in  the  matter  of  the  Land  Grants,  the  language  of  the 
Land  Grant  Act  is  very  strenuous  in  its  insistence  that  the  pur- 
poses of  the  Act  shall-  be  carried  out.  Section  2,  of  the  Land 
Grant  Act  of  1862  says,  "  said  scrip  to  be  sold  by  said  States  and 
the  proceeds  thereof  applied  to  the  uses  and  purposes  prescribed 
in  this  Act,  and  for  no  other  use  or  purpose  wTiaUoever^''  and 
Section  4  says,  "  it  shall  be  inviolably  appropriated  by  each  State 
which  may  take  and  claim  the  benefit  of  this  Act,  to  the  endow- 


32 

ment,  support  and  maintenance  of  at  least  one  college  where  the 
leading  object  shall  be,  without  excluding  other  scientific  and 
classical  studies,  and  including  military  tactics,  to  teach  such 
branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  Agriculture  and  the  Me- 
chanic Arts,  in  such  manner  as  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  may 
respectively  prescribe,  in  order  to  promote  the  liberal  and  prac- 
tical education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and 
professions  in  life."  Now  the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  after  it  had 
claimed  the  benefit  of  the  Act,  was  in  honor  bound  to  fully  carry 
out  all  the  conditions  of  the  Act,  and  by  its  legislature  pledged 
its  faith  that  it  would  carry  them  out,  turned  the  funds  over  to 
Brown  University,  and  we  have  it  to-day  from  Brown  University, 
that  all  of  these  provisions  have  been  faithfully  kept.  Now  in 
the  brief  which  has  been  put  out  by  Brown  University,  the  provi- 
sions that  have  been  faithfully  kept  have  been  enumerated  as 
three,  viz  : 

"  1.  To  provide  for  all  its  students  desiring-  this,  instruction 
in  the  branches  of  learning  related  to  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts."  It  seems  in  the  first,  that  it  was  optional  with  the 
students. 

"  2,  To  render  this  and  all  its  other  facilities  as  nearly  free  as 
possible  to  thirty  or  forty  Rhode  Island  students  at  a  time." 
There  seems  to  be  nothing  like  this  in  the  original  act. 

^'  3.  Perpetually  pledging  for  this  purpose  a  sum  equal  at 
least  to  5  per  cent,  of  the  150,000  for  which  the  land  sold,  while 
keeping  this  sum  forever  intact."  That,  of  course,  they  were 
pledged  to  do.     If  they  do  not  do  it,  the  State  itself  does  it. 

Now  there  is  no  doubt  that  Brown  University  has  faithfully 
kept  something,  and  I  think  by  examining  the  acts  printed  here, 
we  can  find  out  just  what  it  has  faithfully  done.  (From  Acts 
and  Resolves  of  the  General  Assembly,  January  Session,  1863). 

Said  corporation  does  hereby  agree  : 


33 

"  1.  To  provide  a  college  or  department  in  said  University, 
the  leading  object  whereof  shall  be,  without  excluding  other 
scientific  and  classic  studies,  and  including  military  tactics,  to 
teach  such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture  and 
the  mechanic  arts,  in  such  manner  as  hereinafter  stated,  in  order 
to  promote  the  liberal  and  practical  education  of  the  industrial 
classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and  professions  of  life."  That 
word  "  department"  is  not  found  in  the  original  Act. 

"  2.  To  locate  without  unnecessary  delay,  etc."  That  was 
done. 

"  3    To  invest  and  to  keep  invested,  etc."    That  has  been  done. 

"  4.  To  pay  all  expenses  of  locating,  etc."  That  has  been 
done. 

"  5.  To  apply  faithfully  the  income  arising  from  the  avails  of 
the  sales  of  said  lands  in  endowing,  maintaining  and  supporting  a 
college  in  said  University  as  aforesaid,  for  the  objects  as  afore- 
said, so  that  no  portion  of  said  proceeds  or  income  therefrom 
shall  be  used  in  the  erection,  preservation,  purchase  or  repairing 
of  any  building  or  buildings,  for  the  College  or  other  purposes ; 
provided,  however,  that  a  portion  of  said  proceeds  of  said  sales, 
not  exceeding  one- tenth  part  thereof,  may,  at  the  discretion  of  the 
corporation,  be  expended  according  to  said  Act  of  Congress,  in 
the  purchase  of  lands  for  sites,  or  an  experimental  farm,  when- 
ever said  corporation  shall  so  determine." 

Now  if  the  income  of  the  fund  was  used  for  one  thing,  it  could 
not  very  well  be  used  for  another,  but  in  the  stipulation  that 
Brown  University  made  with  the  State,  two  things  are  required. 

"  6.  To  educate  scholars,  each  at  the  rate  of  $100  per  annum 
to  the  extent  of  the  entire  annual  income  from  said  proceeds,  sub- 
ject to  the  proviso  as  aforesaid,  the  Governor  and  Secretary  of 
State  to  have  the  right  on  or  before  Commencement  Day  of  each 


34 

year,  and  in  conjunction  with  the  President  of  the  University,  to 
nominate  candidates  for  vcancies  occurring  in  said  College  or 
department  as  aforesaid,  at  the  beginning  of  each  collegiate  year, 
and  students  admitted  to  said  College,  and  pursuing  studies 
therein  by  virtue  of  said  fund,  are  not  to  be  excluded  from  the 
regular  scientific  and  classical  studies  of  said  University,  and  are 
to  be  subject  to  the  laws  and  regulations  of  the  University,  in  en- 
tering and  remaining  thereat ;  and  are  to  be  graduated  with  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philosophy  or  Bachelor  of  Arts,  or  are  to 
receive  a  certificate  for  a  partial  course,  according  as  the  case 
may  be."  If  the  extent  of  the  entire  annual  income  is  used  for 
scholarships,  it  cannot  be  used  for  endowing,  establishing  and 
maintaining  a  college.  It  seems  as  though  Brown  University  took 
the  option  of  the  Act  under  the  6th,  rather  than  the  5th  Section  ; 
and  used  the  fund  in  the  same  way  as  funds  might  be  used, 
given  by  some  benevolent  person  to  support  and  help  indigent 
students  through  Brown  University.  Although  this  is  a  most 
beneficent  work,  nothing  of  the  kind  is  specified  in  the  original 
Act,  and  when  the  State  imposes  upon  the  University,  as  it  did 
by  a  subsequent  resolution,  that  it  shall  select  scholars  from  that 
class,  it  violates  the  very  spirit  of  the  Act  itself.  Thlt  does  not 
inquire  whether  they  are  rich  or  poor,  but  allows  to  all  equal  facili- 
ties and  equal  privileges. 

But  Brown  University  assumed  something  else : 

"  7.  To  assume  upon  itself  all  the  resposibilities  and  duties 
which  are  imposed  upon  the  State  by  the  said  act  of  Congress ; 
and  also  all  the  duties  imposed  upon  colleges  endowed  under  the 
provisions  of  the  said  act,  and  to  be  entitled  to  all  the  privileges 
and  immunities  conferred  thereby  upon  the  State,  and  upon  insti- 
tutions endowed  thereunder."  That  is  to  say.  Brown  University 
assumed  to  do  all  that  the  State  assumed  to  do,  because  of  its 


35 

stipulation  that  it  would  carry  out  all  provisions  of  the  act  of  1862. 
Now  we  know  that  this  money  has  been  used  solely  for  scholar- 
ships and  not  for  supporting,  endowing  and  maintaining  an  insti- 
tution. We  can  take  the  language  of  the  brief  itself :  "  Not  a 
cent  of  the  interest  of  this  has  gone  to  purchase  the  new  instruc- 
tion called  for  by  the  agreement  with  the  State.  All  money  thus 
received  had  to  be  paid  out  in  scholarships."  We  claim  they  have 
administered  these  funds  just  as  they  would  have  administered 
any  other  funds  donated  for  scholarships. 

Elsewhere  we  read,  "  They  in  no  way  increased  the  University's 
means  of  instruction,"  that  is,  it  was  used  for  scholarships. 
Again,  "  All  that  it  has  wrought  in  any  department  for  the  liberal 
and  practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several 
pursuits  and  professions  in  life."  That  is,  it  declares  that  what- 
ever it  has  wrought  in  any  department  is  the  faithful  carrying  out 
of  their  obligation  to  have  one  department  which  should  carry  out 
the  provisions  of  this  act.  That  is  to  say,  the  general  instruction 
in  Brown  University  has  been  and  is  the  answer  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  act  of  1862.  And  yet,  in  another  part  of  this  same 
document  they  say  that  the  instruction  given  in  the  college  edu- 
cates the  farmers  away  from  the  farm,  not  towards  the  farm.  That 
is  not  the  object  of  this  law,  it  is  to  keep  them  on  the  farm. 

After  these  things  are  stated,  they  can  no  doubt  very  well  make 
this  other  statement :  "  It  is  a  very  great  error  to  suppose  that  the 
grant  was  solely  or  even  primarily  intended  to  increase  the  know- 
ledge of  agricultural,  or  to  further  education  of  any  sort  among 
the  agricultural  population  in  particular. ^^ 

"  This  entirely  mistaken  view  is  understood  to  have  sprung  from 
the  label  or  title  which  the  government  printer  (entirely  without 
authority)  gave  to  the  law  of  1862,  dubbing  it  'The  Agricultural 
Grant,'  or  something  of  that  sort." 


36 

Now  gentlemen,  this  is  certainly  a  surprise  to  the  people  of  this 
State,  that  after  all  the  interest  which  has  been  taken  by  them, 
and  after  what  has  been  given  by  Senator  Morrill  as  a  basis  for 
this  act,  that  the  land  was  not  producing  what  it  should  produce, 
the  annual  returns  showed  a  decrease  instead  of  an  increase  ;  and 
when  we  take  the  feeling  which  spreads  through  this  State,  as  well 
as  other  States,  for  there  is  a  certain  freemasonry  between  farmers, 
the  general  idea  was  that  they  were  to  get  some  relief  from  this 
act.  If  that  is  true,  we  do  not  think  they  got  that  idea  from  this 
being  "  dubbed  "  by  some  employee  of  the  government  "  The  Agri- 
cultural Fund."  But  if  the  act  does  not  refer  to  agriculture,  pray 
tell  me  what  does  refer  to  agriculture. 

We  find  this  still  more  clear  when  the  act  is  compared  with  the 
Hatch  Act.  Here  we  find  something  which  the  University  says 
luas  to  benefit  agriculture,  that  is  the  Hatch  act.  Now  referring 
to  section  8  we  find  this : 

"  That  in  States  having  colleges  entitled  under  this  section  to 
the  benefits  of  this  act,  and  having  also  agricultural  experiment 
stations  established  by  law  separate  from  said  colleges,  such 
States  shall  be  authorized  to  apply  such  benefits  to  experi- 
ments at  stations  so  established  by  such  States ;  and  in  case  any 
State  shall  have  established,  under  the  provisions  of  said  act  of 
July  2d  aforesaid,  an  agricultural  department  or  experiment 
station,  in  connection  with  any  university,  college  or  institution 
not  distinctively  an  agricultural  college  or  school,  etc."  Then  it 
seems  that  even  under  the  Hatch  act  it  was  discovered  that  there 
was  something  agricultural  in  the  original  bill  and  that  the  very 
i  dea  of  that  was  the  act  of  1862.  If  this  is  a  fact,  there 
must  be  something  in  the  original  act  that  gave  farmers  an  im- 
pression that  it  was  meant  for  agriculture,  because  the  germ  and 
the   thought   of  the  Hatch  bill  was   in  the  act  of   1862.      And 


S7 

that  is  one  of  the  things  the  University  pledged  to  carry 
out.  We  find  under  Sec.  5.  (Land  Grant  Act)  "  First.  If  any 
portion  of  the  fund  invested,  as  provided  by  the  foregoing  sec- 
tions, or  any  portion  of  the  interest  thereon,  shall,  by  any 
action  or  contingency,  be  diminished  or  lost,  it  shall  be  replaced 
by  the  State  to  which  it  belongs,  so  that  the  capital  of  the  fund 
shall  remain  forever  undiminished;  and  the  annual  interest  shall 
be  regularly  Applied  without  diminution  to  the  purpose  mentioned 
in  the  fourth  section  of  this  act,  except  that  a  sum  not  exceeding 
10  per  cent,  upon  the  amount  received  by  any  State  under  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  may  be  expended  for  the  purchase  of  lands  for 
sites  or  experimental  farms,  whenever  authorized  by  the  respective 
Legislatures  of  said  States."  Now  the  University  was  authorized 
.by  the  Legislature  to  do  this  very  agricultural  work,  that  they  ad- 
mit was  agricultural,  and  have  practically  an  institution  the  same 
as  was  called  for  under  the  Hatch  act.  We  might  say  also  to 
show  that  the  University  had  not  the  spirit  of  agriculturists,  and 
was  not  in  sympathy  with  them,  that  after  they  had  the  funds  a 
certain  length  of  time  a  committee  was  appointed  to  look  into  the 
matter,  and  they  reported,  as  has  been  stated,  that  neither  Rhode 
Island  nor  the  University  itself  had  carried  out  the  provisions  of 
the  act.  At  that  time  the  committee  above  mentioned  introduced 
a  bill  into  the  Legislature  that  $10,000  be  appropriated  from  the 
State  Treasury,  if  a  like  sum  could  be  raised  by  subscription,  to 
buy  a  farm.  Now  they  already  had  the  1 10,000  in  the  bill  and  if 
the  University  had  tke  interest  of  agriculture  at  heart,  it  would 
be  supposed  that  it  would  now  be  a  matter  of  history  that  they 
took  some  interest,  or  desired  to  extend  to  the  people  the  benefits 
of  the  Land  Grant  act  of  1862,  but  I  have  heard  no  one  say  that 
they  did  so,  and  it  is  also  stated  that  the  resolution  failed. 

Now  we  believe  that  this  bill  calls  for  an  entirely  different  class 
of  instruction  than  that  given  at  Brown  University,  and  as  an 


38 

agricultural  college  we  believe  it  will  never  succeed,  and  that  the 
State  will  not  derive  the  greatest  benefits  from  the  act  unless  we 
have  a  separate  institution.  We  believe  it  is  a  matter  of  fact 
that  the  students  of  the  industrial  class  going  to  a  university  of 
this  kind  are  looked  upon  with  disfavor,  and  consequently  it  does 
not  attract  such  students.  We  believe  that  it  can  be  illustrated 
by  evidence  that  can  be  got  from  other  States. 

In  a  letter  from  Prof.  J.  W.  Sanborn,  of  the  Agricultural  Col- 
lege at  Logan,  Utah,  to  the  Mirror  and  Farmer,  he  says  in  regard 
to  the  question  of  removing  the  agricultural  department  of  Dart- 
mouth College  to  Durham,  N.  H.,  as  has  been  proposed : 

"  Severed  from  the  depressing  influence  of  Dartmouth  College 
it  may  become  a  power  m  the  industrial  development  of  the  State. 
The  writer's  experience  at  three  agricultural  colleges,  and  his 
knowledge  of  the  history  of  most  of  such  colleges  in  this  country, 
have  demonstrated  to  him  that  such  an  influence  is  no  myth. 
Present  experience  in  a  college  devoted  alone  to  industrial  educa- 
tion justifies  the  belief  that  within  a  few  months  of  the  opening 
of  a  broadly-founded  industrial  college  in  Durham  more  students 
would  be  in  attendance  than  the  present  agricultural  college  en- 
rolls in  year. 

"  The  writer  has  nothing  but  friendship  for  Dartmouth  College, 
and  as  a  native  of  the  State  is  proud  of  its  history,  and,  whatever 
may  become  of  the  New  Hampshire  Agricultural  College,  fervently 
hopes  that  its  future  may  be  more  resplendent  than  its  past.  But 
Dartmouth  College  has  enlisted  all  of  its  being  in  the  interest  of 
another  educational  policy  than  that  contemplated  by  the  act  of 
Congress  by  which  the  New  Hampshire  Agricultural  College  was 
founded.  Dartmouth  College  is  independent  of  the  will  of  the 
State,  otherwise  the  State  might  shape  its  policy  to  meet  the  pur- 
poses of  the  act  in  question  and  to  meet  what  I  conceive  to  be  the 


39 


great  educational  demand  of  New  Hampshire.  It  is  this  educa- 
tional demand  that  constitutes  the  great,  and,  as  I  believe,  im- 
perative need  of  accepting  the  conditions  of  Mr.  Thompson's  will, 
for  thereby  the  funds  will  be  provided  that  will  make  the  college 
an  institution  broad  enough  for  the  demands  of  the  hour." 

I  have  here  also  a  letter  from  a  graduate  of  the  Agricultural 
College  at  Hanover,  in  connection  with  Dartmouth,  in  which  he 
says,  under  date  of  February  25,  1891  : 

"  The  subject  to  which  you  allude,  the  Agricultural  College,  is 
one  in  which  I  have  taken  a  deep  interest.  As  you  are  doubtless 
aware,  our  College  was  founded  as  a  direct  result  of  several 
things :  the  Land  Grant  Bill ;  the  gift  of  Hon.  John  Conant  of 
Jaffrey,  of  a  farm  and  a  sum  of  money  ;  and  the  gift  to  Dart- 
mouth College  by  David  Culver  of  Lyme,  of  a  sum  of  money  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  instruction  in  agriculture.  When  our  Legis- 
lature passed  the  vote  to  establish  the  College,  they  decided  in 
view  of  this  gift  of  the  farm  by  Mr.  Conant,  and  the  money  by 
Mr.  Culver,  to  Dartmouth  College,  to  found  the  Agricultural  Col- 
lege at  Hanover,  and  in  connection  with  Dartmouth  College,  giv- 
ing Dartmouth  a  part  of  the  Trustees,  but  leaving  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  majority  of  the  board  with  the  Governor. 

•'  The  College  was  accordingly  established  there,  and  the  first 
class  of  three  was  graduated  in  1871,  and  the  classes  have  varied 
in  number  since  then  from  one  to  thirteen,  the  latter  number  be- 
ing in  1881,  of  which  class  I  was  a  member.  Thus  you  see  that 
the  number  of  students  has  not  been  very  encouraging  at  Han- 
over, hardly  what  we  could  wish,  but  when  we  think  of  the  strug- 
gles of  a  weak,  poorly -endowed  institution  beside  of  the  famous 
and  well-endowed  Dartmouth,  it  is  not  perhaps  a  wonder  that  the 
boys  are  not  attracted  towards  the  weaker. 


40 

"But  now,  through  the  generous  bequest  of  Benjamin  Thomp- 
son of  Durham,  giving  his  home  farm  and  nearly  1400,000  to  the 
State  to  found  a  College  of  Agriculture  at  Durham,  a  general 
sentiment  has  sprung  up  all  over  the  State  in  favor  of  accepting 
the  money  and  the  removal  of  the  College  to  that  place  as  soon 
as  possible.  A  bill  is  already  before  the  Legislature  providing 
for  the  acceptance  of  the  bequest,  and  undoubtedly  as  soon  as 
that  has  passed  one  will   be  introduced  looking  to  the  removal. 

"  I  am  very  strongly  of  the  opinion  that  the  College  would  be 
much  better  off  with  a  separate  existence  and  away  from  another 
institution  of  learning  than  it  would  in  competition  with  others, 
and  look  forward  with  pleasant  anticipation  to  the  time  when  the 
home  of  the  New  Hampshire  Agricultural  College  will  be  at  Dur- 
ham, living  on  its  own  merits,  rather  than  at  Haitover  as  a  mere 
appendage  to  Dartmouth  College." 

In  another  letter  he  says :  "  Here  in  our  State  I  do  not  think 
there  will  be  any  objection  to  the  removal  of  the  College.  The 
legal  questions  were  referred  to  a  committee  appointed  by  the 
Governor  and  Council,  consisting  of  Judge  Wm.  L.  Foster,  Hon. 
E.  A.  Hibbard,  and  Hon.  E.  G.  Eastman,  and  I  understand  they 
have  examined  the  contracts  and  acts  and  will  report  very  soon, 
recommending  that  all  connection  with  Dartmouth  College  be  sev- 
ered and  the  Agricultural  College  removed  to  Durham  as  soon  as 
possible,  that  they  may  be  in  better  shape  to  use  the  Thompson 
fund  when  it  becomes  available,  in  a  little  over  18  years  ;  I  do  not 
think,  in  fact  do  not  see  why  the  U.  S.  could  object  to  the  trans- 
fer of  her  funds  so  long  as  there  would  be  only  one  College." 

Now  you  see  what  we  ask  for  is  something  which  has  been 
found  not  to  be  foreign  to  the  interests  of  other  States  ;  they 
have  found  it  practical  for  the  purposes  of  the  bill  being  carried 
out,  and  for  the  interests  of  the  State,  that  they  should  be  sepa-^ 


41 

rate,  and  that  is  precisely  loJiat  lue  ask^^for.  Now  it  is  stated  by 
the  University  that  the  farming  portion  of  the  population  is,  of  the 
total  wage-earning  portion  of  the  population  only  six  per  cent., 
whereas  the  industrial  portion  is  thirty-five  per  cent.  Now  here 
in  Providence  the  City  Council  has,  I  understand,  appointed  a 
committee  to  look  into  this  matter  of  industrial  education,  and 
they  found  that  of  the  number  of  pupils  that  go  to  the  higli 
schools  but  twenty-eight  per  cent,  graduate,  and  in  this  high 
school  the  average  is  above  other  high  schools.  Now  if  only 
twenty-eight  per  cent,  graduate  from  the  high  schools  and  are 
competent  to  enter  college,  it  does  not  follow  that,  although  it  is 
in  the  centre  of  the  industrial  population,  anything  like  thirty- 
five  per  cent,  will  ask  for  an  industrial  education.  Furthermore 
they  have  found  that  at  the  Industrial  school  on  Pond  street  the 
pupils  they  expect  to  get  are  graduates  of  the  grammar  schools. 
For  the  pupils  leaving  the  grammar  schools  there  are  only  two 
things  to  do — to  go  to  high  school  or  to  go  to  work,  and  only 
twenty-eight  per  cent,  that  go  to  the  high  school  graduate.  Fifty 
per  cent,  that  go  to  the  industrial  schools  do  graduate,  and  al- 
though Brown  University  is  in  the  centre  of  an  industrial  popula- 
tion, and  does  not  think  it  wise  to  duplicate  facilities  for  instruc- 
tion, thei/  have  duplicated  them  in  this  city.  Brown  University 
does  not  draw  students  from  that  class;  it  does  not  draw  from 
the  graduates  of  the  grammar  schools,  and  that  is  the  very  class 
that  our  institution  is  supposed  to  cater  to  —  drawing  from  the 
grammar  schools  and  giving  the  students  a  practical  education  in 
agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  that  they  may  be  fitted  to  earn 
a  living;  that  is  made  a  leading  feature  of  this  institution, 
although  pure  mental  educational  work  is  in  no  wise  neglected. 
The  Hon.  Rowland  Hazard,  in  a  speech  delivered  before  the 
South  County  Agricultural  Society,  in  relation  to  industrial  train- 
ing, said  that  in  institutions  where  one-half  of  the  student's  time 

7 


42 

was  devoted  to  literary  work  and  one-half  to  industrial  training, 
the  student  came  out  just  as  well  equipped  in  each  department  as 
if  he  had  devoted  an  equal  length  of  time  to  one  alone,  and  he 
had  two  educations  instead  of  one. 

There  is  another  feature  in  this  matter,  and  one  which  I  sup- 
pose it  is  hardly  wise  for  us  to  touch  upon,  although  it  was 
brought  up  with  a  good  deal  of  force  at  the  University  hearing ; 
that  is,  the  legal  phase  of  the  question.  We  were  at  that  hearing 
visited  with  the  thunders  of  the  law.  We  were  told  that  the 
State  had  sold  her  birthright  for  a  mere  mess  of  pottage,  and  it 
could  not  get  it  back  again  without  the  consent  of  the  University. 
We  came  away  feeling  very  much  discouraged.  Now  it  is  im- 
possible for  us  to  compete  with  legal  talent,  but  we  can  only  bring 
this  up,  that  at  Brown  University  they  teach  certain  things  in 
law,  as  to  what  is  the  meaning  of  the  law,  and  wish  students  to 
go  away  with  some  of  the  common,  general  principles  of  the  law, 
and  what  they  give  to  them  is,  I  suppose  correct.  Now,  this  is 
what  has  been  given  to  the  students  this  winter : 

"  The  Legislature  cannot  pass  an  irrepealable  law.  It  has.wo 
power  to  hind  its  successor,  since  if  it  could  do  so  it  might  deprive 
future  legislatures  of  all  their  powers.  Therefore,  upon  all  pub- 
lic matters,  the  Legislature  constantly  exercises  its  power  of 
repeal." 

Now  it  was  said  to  us,  "  You  cannot  get  back  the  money." 
But  this  is  a  trust  fund,  and  1  think  we  may  say  we  do  not  care  a 
snap  about  the  money,  we  will  look  to  the  State  to  recompense  us 
for  the  150,000,  but  we  do  not  believe  the  State  of  Rhode  Island 
has  trusteed  away  its  powers. 

There  is  one  other  matter  which  it  seems  to  me  should  not  be 
ignored,  that  is,  when  we  are  talking  about  this  public  money  and 
the  public  funds,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  present  channel 


43 

through  which  the  money  is  running  is  a  denominational  one, 
and  this  question  will  arise.  Recently  the  Bible  has  been  taken 
out  of  the  public  schools  because  it  was  thought  the  public  money 
should  not  be  used  in  sectarian  instruction,  and  the  school  com- 
mittee's action  in  deference  to  this  sentiment  is  believed  to  have 
been  a  wise  one.  If  the  Bible  is  considered  sectarian  by  any 
people,  it  should  not  be  thrust  upon  them.  Now  this  is  a  denomi- 
national institution,  and  denominational  institutions  should  not 
handle  the  public  funds  ;  every  citizen  should  be  able  to  feel  that 
there  was  no  sentiment  of  that  nature  in  an  institution  where 
public  funds  are  administered.  Now  I  suppose  that  it  will  be 
said  that  Brown  University  is  not  sectarian,  that  its  education  is 
broad  and  liberal,  that  no  tenets  of  any  faith  are  thrust  upon 
its  students.  Recently  there  was  an  Act  went  into  this  Legisla- 
ture, that  it  should  not  be  required  that  certain  officers  of  the 
Institution  should  be  of  a  certain  denomination,  and  the  President 
of  the  Institution  stated  before  a  committee,  that  it  was  for  the 
interest  of  the  Institution  that  it  should  be  denominational,  and 
said  that  there  are  institutions  throughout  the  country  that  are 
denominational  and  are  doing  a  grand  work. 

I  should  like  to  call  your  attention  to  an  article  in  the  Inde- 
pendent of  April  16th,  by  Charles  D.  Corning  on  "  Government 
Aid."  The  following  are  given  as  reminders  of  Congressional 
action. 

''December  14th,  1875,  Hon.  James  G.  Blaine,  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  proposed  an  Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  which  provided  that 

"  No  money  raised  by  taxation  in  any  State,  for  the  support  of 
public  schools  or  derived  from  any  public  fund  therefor,  nor  any 
public  lands  devoted  thereto,  shall  ever  be  under  the  control  of 
any  religious   sect  (or   denomination),  nor   shall   any  money  so 


44 

raised,  or  lands  so  devoted,  be  divided  between  religious  sects  or 
denominations." 

August  4th,  1876,  the  above  was  reported  from  the  Judiciary 
Committee.  The  history  (McPherson's)  says  :  "  After  a  brief 
debate  the  resolution,  as  reported,  was  agreed  to ;  yeas  180,  nays 
7,  not  voting,  98." 

In  the  Senate,  this  article  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Judiciary.  August  9th,  Hon.  Mr.  Edmunds,  of  Vermont,  re- 
ported a  joint  resolution  as  a  substitute,  which  was  more  detailed, 
sweeping  and  even  stronger  than  Mr.  Blaine's  original  resolution, 
for  which  twenty-eight  persons  voted,  and  sixteen  against,  lacking 
only  two  votes  of  the  necessary  two-thirds.  In  1888,  Hon.  H.  W. 
Blair  introduced  a  similar  amendment. 

The  next  is  a  reminder  of  the  various  congressional  party 
pi  atf  orms. 

In  1876,  plank  7  of  the  National  Republican  platform,  called 
for  an  Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States: 

"  Forbidding  the  application  of  any  public  funds  or  property  for 
the  benefit  of  any  schools  or  institutions  under  sectarian  control." 

The  Democratic  National  Platform  that  year  favored  the  main- 
tenance of  j:he '*  public  schools,"  without  prejudice  or  preference 
for  any  class,  sect  or  creed,  and  without  largesses  from  the 
treasury  to  any. 

In  1880,  the  platform  of  the  National  Republican  Convention 
repeated  its  recommendation  of  four  years  previous,  for  an 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution,  prohibiting  the  giving  of  money 
to  sectarian  institutions. 

The  Democratic  National  Platform  that  year  briefly  declared 
for  the  "  separation  of  Church  and  State,"  and  the  "fostering  of 
the  common  schools." 

The  next  reminder  is  of  the  attitude  of  the  older  states. 


45 

From  the  exhaustive  work  of  Frederick  J.  Stimson,  1886,  on 
the  American  Statute  Law,  the  following  facts  are  collected.  The 
phraseology  used  in  the  different  constitutions  varies  a  little,  but 
the  following  exhibits  tell  the  story  fairly  : 

1.  By  the  constitutions  of  thirteen  states  no  public  money  can 
be  appropriated  for  the  support  of  any  sectarian  school — New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wis- 
consin, Minnesota,  Missouri,  Texas,  California,  Colorado,  Ala- 
bama, Louisiana. 

2.  By  the  constitutions  of  fourteen  states  no  money  can  ever 
be  taken  from  the  public  treasury  in  aid  of  any  church,  sect  or 
sectarian  institution— Pennsylvania,  California,  Michigan,  Georgia, 
Missouri,  Texas,  Illinois,  Colorada,  Minnesota,  Indiana,  Oregon, 
Wisconsin,  Mississippi,  Louisiana.  The  four  states  in  italics  are 
not  in  the  previous  list. 

3.  In  four  states  no  public  money  can  be  appropriated  for  any 
school  not  under  the  exclusive  control  of  the  state  or  its  school 
department — Massachusetts,  Maine,  Pennsylvania,  California. 
Maine  is  not  included  in  any  of  the  previous  lists. 

And  so  we  see  that  it  is  in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  American 
institutions  that  public  funds  should  be  public,  going  through  pub- 
lic channels  and  administered  by  public  officials.  Now  if  this 
fund  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  Brown  University  what  can  the 
State  do  about  it  ?  If  the  State  sees  fit  to  change  the  policy  of 
Brown  University  how  can  it  get  at  it  if  it  has  trusteed  away  its 
powers  ? 

At  the  Kingston  school  the  State  can  change  its  policy  at  any 
time.  It  is  in  harmony  and  in  accord  with  the  policy  of  the 
State. 

I  would  like  to  say  at  this  time  that  it  does  not  seem  to  me  that 
it  is  hardly  appropriate  in  construing  a  law  to  refer  back  to  the 
author  of  the  law  to  see  what  the  law   meant,  although  lawyers 


46 

may  do  it  on  occasion.  I  see  that  Mr.  Morrill  stated  that  out  of 
the  institutions  established  forty-four  are  a  success.  Is  Rhode 
Island  one  of  the  number  ?  What  he  said  about  the  State  having 
control  is  that  it  more  readily  reflects  to  the  credit  of  the  State. 

Now  the  institution  established  at  South  Kingstown  admits 
girls  ;  Brown  University  does  not  have  co-education  of  the  sexes, 
and  if  the  State  says,  "  We  will  give  the  benefit  of  these  funds  to 
both  sexes,"  how  can  it  do  so  if  they  are  in  the  hands  of  Brown 
University  ? — how  can  it  control  the  policy  with  regard  to  the  use 
of  the  funds  ? 

There  is  another  thing  thrown  out  by  Brown  University.  That 
is  ''  How  are  you  going  to  get  the  money,  little  State,  to  enable 
you  to  carry  this  work  on?"  But  there  are  ways  that  we  think 
we  could  get  the  money  if  the  question  of  money  or  taxation  is 
brought  up,  and  I  think  we  represent  the  feeling  of  the  people  of 
the  State  when  we  say  that  rather  than  have  this  money  adminis- 
tered by  Brown  University  we  prefer  it  to  go  back  to  the  General 
Government  and  remain  until  the  State  can  organize  its  own 
Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  and  manage  it. 

Mr.  Thomas  G.  Hazard,  of  Narragansett  Pier,  R.  I.,  spoke 
next,  as  follows : 

That  portion  of  the  community  of  Rhode  Island  which  is  in 
favor  of  the  Congressional  grants  of  money  being  turned  over  to 
the  Agricultyral  School  at  Kingston  is  here  to-day  to  show  to  this 
committee,  and  through  them  to  the  Legislature,  why  it  should  be 
done.  At  a  former  hearing  there  was  a  committee  appointed  by 
Brown  University  to  show  to  this  committee,  and  to  the  Legisla- 
ture through  it,  why  the  fund  should  go  to  Brown  University,  and 
why  the  fund  of  the  Land  Grant  Act  of  1862  had  been  rightfully 
assigned  to  that  institution,  and  why  this  other  fund  should  follow 
in  that  line. 


47 

Now,  gentlemen,  the  position  we,  the  farmers  and  mechanics  of 
Rhode  Island,  take  in  this  matter  is  this,  that  all  of  the  acts  of 
Congress,  that  of  1862  and  all  other  acts,  were  given  for  the  ex- 
press purpose,  as  you  will  all  acknowledge  has  been  shown  here 
to-day,  of  benefiting  the  farmers  and  mechanics,  and  it  is  ex- 
pressly stated  in  all  of  these  acts  that  it  is  for  their  benefit,  and 
their  benefit  alone.  There  is  nothing  that  I  have  read  in  these 
bills  anywhere  that  speaks  of  literary  or  classical  colleges  ;  but  it 
is  simply  this,  that  the  agricultural  interest  and  the  mechanical 
interest  shall  be  served  by  having  this  fund  applied  to  education 
in  mechanical  and  agricultural  departments.  It  has  seemed  to 
say  it  so  plainly  that  there  was  no  need  for  any  argument  in  this 
matter.  But  when  we  came  here  to  the  hearing  of  Brown  Uni- 
versity a  week  or  ten  days  ago,  a  gentleman  got  up  and  stated  to 
you  that  this  grant  of  1862  had  been  given  by  the  State  to  Brown 
University  illegally,  and  that  Brown  University  held  it,  and  that 
the  people  of  this  State  could  not  help  themselves.  What  a 
declaration  to  come  from  the  representative  of  a  great  moral  in- 
stitution ;  saying,  in  effect,  that  Brown  University  had  possession 
of  and  the  benefit  of  stolen  goods,  taken  from  the  people  by  the 
illegal  act  of  the  State  Legislature,  and  that  the  people  could  not 
help  themselves.  And  having  that  little  sum  of  $50,000,  they 
have  the  impudence  to  say  to  the  Legislature  of  this  State  that 
they  demand  this  other  grant  of  $25,000  a  year. 

Now,  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  why  was  it  that  in  1862, 
and  various  times  since.  Congress  has  seen  fit  to  vote  to  appropriate 
this  money  for  this  specified  purpose  ?  It  is  because  in  the  growth 
of  the  country  and  of  the  spread  of  liberal  ideas  it  was  found 
that  in  foreign  countries  there  was  a  system  of  industrial  and 
agricultural  education  growing  up,  and  that  it  was  wise  to  foster 
it  and  make  much  of  it,  and  further  in  this  way  the  interests  of 
the  two  great  classes  in  the  community — the  agricultural  and  in- 


48 

dustrial  classes — the  classes  who  do  the  work,  the  classes  who 
raise  what  we  lire  upon  and  manufacture  everthing  else,-  -that 
they  were  the  classes  upon  whom  the  country  had  to  rely,  and 
that  their  interests  should  be  fostered. 

Now  why  should  there  be  this  separate  institution  ;  why  should 
this  Act  call  for  a  college  for  education  in  agriculture  and  the 
mechanic  arts  ?  Was  it  not,  gentlemen,  because  the  colleges 
founded  all  over  the  land,  the  classical  and  literary  colleges,  had 
been  found  to  fail  of  reaching  the  purpose  for  which  these  latter 
institutions  were  designed  ;  that  the  farmers  and  mechanics  could 
get  no  benefit  in  their  employments  out  of  these  classical  and 
literary  colleges ;  and  that  the  boys  and  girls  growing  up,  more 
especially  in  the  country,  farmers'  sons  and  daughters,  mechanics' 
sons  and  daughters  could  not  go  to  them  ?  They  were  out  of 
touch  with  these  literary  institutions ;  if  they  could  have  an  in- 
stitution nearer  their  business  and  nearer  their  common  ideas, 
they  would  take  advantage  of  that  and  would  get  the  benefit 
arising  from  it,  and  so  these  classes  would  be  elevated  in  this 
way.  This,  it  seems  to  me,  was  the  true  idea  of  the  Land  Grant 
Act.  You  take  the  boys  in  the  country,  those  more  especially, 
that  grow  up  on  a  farm  where  our  district  schools  are  mighty 
slim  affairs,  and  the  education  the  boys  and  girls  get  there  is  very 
little  indeed.  They  have  no  money  to  go  into  the  cities  to  the 
high  schools  and  to  these  other  institutions  where  other  people 
who  are  better  off  than  they  can  send  their  children.  When  they 
start  in  life  and  go  to  work  on  the  farm,  or  wherever  they  see  fit 
to  go,  they  are  poorly  equipped  with  an  education  and  must  de- 
pend upon  the  natural  endowments  which  the  Almighty  has 
given  to  them ;  they  are  laboring  under  the  disadvantage  of  that 
want  of  education,  and  that,  it  seems  to  me,  was  one  of  the  rea- 
sons which  led  to  the  appropriation  of  this  fund  for  agricultural 
and  industrial  colleges,  that  the  people  from  the  country  districts 


49 

who  had  no  means  for  obtaining  a  better  education  than  the  dis- 
trict schools  afforded  should  have  a  stepping  stone  in  these 
schools,  and  could  get  a  higher  class  of  education  to  broaden  their 
ideas,  to  set  their  minds  at  work  thinking  out  the  problems  of 
life,  to  give  them  confidence  by  measuring  themselves  with  one 
another  ;  that,  to  my  mind,  is  the  purpose  of  these  colleges. 

Now  gentlemen,  in  regard  to  the  results  of  this,  it  has  already 
been  shown  to  you  by  the  quotations  and  the  letters  brought  be- 
fore you  by  the  gentlemen  who  spoke  before  me,  that  these 
agricultural  and  industrial  schools  are  a  benefit  not  only  to  the 
boys  and  girls  who  attend  them,  but  to  the  community.  Why  do 
we  want  these  great  industrial  classes  elevated,  broadened  and 
their  minds  widened  ?  So  that  they  can  serve  the  State  and 
understand  public  questions  and  perform  the  duties  of  life  better. 
Who  are  the  people  that  we  depend  on  in  emergencies,  if  not  the 
farmers  and  their  boys,  and  the  industrial  classes  ? 

Now  in  regard  to  the  wishes  of  the  paople,  you  have  here  to-day 
quite  an  assemblage  of  farmers  and  mechanics  who  are  interested 
in  this  matter,  and  who  have  come  here,  in  spite  of  work  to  be 
done  at  home,  to  attend  to  this  matter  which  is  of  great  impor- 
tance to  them.  You  have  also  the  petitions  from  all  over  this 
State,  signed  by  the  farmers  and  mechanics,  I  think  as  many 
mechanics  as  farmers  have  signed  it,  you  have  here  in  spirit  all  of 
these  people.  You  have  here  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  town 
councils  of  this  State,  asking  you  to  see  that  this  money  shall  go 
to  the  Agricultural  College  at  Kingston. 

What  have  you  here  from  the  other  side  ?  You  have  several 
lawyers,  one  Doctor  of  Divinity,  and  other  gentlemen  of  education 
and  standing  who  come  here  and  say  to  you,  and  to  this  Legisla- 
ture that  they  petition  you  to  give  them  this  money  for  the  benefit 
of  the  farmers,  and  on  the  other  hand,  you  have  the  farmers 
themselves  and  the  industrial  classes,  and  the  farmers'  wives  and 


50      • 

daughters  who  are  interested  in  this  thing  coming  here  to  say, 
"  Do  not  take  this  away  from  the  school  to  which  we  send  our 
boys,  and  turn  it  over  to  Brown  University  who  never  has  done 
us  one  cent's  worth  of  good  with  what  she  has  had." 

How  has  this  money  been  applied  in  the  past  ?  For  twenty-eight 
years  Brown  University  has  had  this  fund  and  no  one  will  deny 
that  its  benefits  have  been  enjoyed  by  every  class  but  the  class  for 
which  the  money  was  intended.  That  the  farmers'  boys  practi- 
cally got  no  good  from  it,  is  shown  from  the  fact  that  they  have 
not  gone  there ;  that  this  agricultural  school  is  the  place  to  which 
they  wish  to  go,  is  shown  from  the  fact  that  upon  the  opening  of 
that  school  there  were  thirty  farmers'  sons  and  mechanics'  sons 
ready  to  take  hold  and  learn  what  the  Institution  could  give. 
The  farmer  or  mechanic  does  not  want  dead  languages,  does  not 
want  the  higher  sciences,  does  not  want  what  the  literary  colleges 
teach  or  pretend  to  teach,  but  wants  as  much  as  he  can  get  in 
three  or  four  years'  time  of  an  education  that  will  help  him  in  his 
work  in  life,  and  he  can  get  it  in  these  agricultural  colleges  better 
than  in  any  literary  college  in  the  land.  The  spirit  of  the  literary 
colleges  is  all  over  the  land,  it  descended  to  us  from  England  ; 
the  old  spirit  that  a  man  cannot  be  a  gentleman  and  work  with 
his  hands ;  that  to  be  a  mechanic  or  a  laboring  man  is  derogatory, 
and  that  only  the  three  professions  of  law,  physics,  and  divinity 
are  respectable  for  the  nobility  of  the  land.  This  is  the  spirit 
which  voluntarily  or  involuntarily  is  fostered  and  displayed  all 
over  the  country,  and  the  farmers'  boys  and  girls  wont  go  to  those 
colleges.  This  is  shown  by  what  has  taken  place  under  the  man- 
agement of  these  funds  in  the  past  by  Brown  University. 

Now,  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen :  Brown  University  has  been 
ready  to  give  up  this  little  fund  and  appointed  her  committee  to 
attend  to  the  matter,  but  when  she  found  there  was  fifteen    to 


51 

twenty-five  thousand  dollars  a  year  coming  to  her,  annually,  she 
withdrew  that  committee  which  was  appointed  to  give  up  the  '62 
funds,  and  appointed  another.  And  every  moral,  right-minded 
man  must  feel  that  it  was  a  robbery  and  a  wrong.  They  were  ap- 
pointed to  give  that  up,  and  where  is  the  distinction  between  that 
'62  fund  and  this  new  fund  ? 

Now,  gentlemen,  with  regard  to  this  school  at  Kingston,  I  see 
here  in  the  opinion  of  the  court : 

"  It  may  be  thought  that  the  fourth  section  of  said  chapter  706, 
can  have  some  controlling  effect.  If  the  money  had  been  appro- 
priated for  the  promotion  of  agriculture,  without  specification  of 
the  purpose,  the  section,  doubtless,  would  control ;  but  the  money 
is  appropriated  specifically  for  the  more  complete  endowment  and 
maintenance  of  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  Agriculture  and  Me- 
chanic Arts,  established,  or  which  may  hereafter  be  established, 
under  the  act  of  Congress  of  July  2,  1862 ;  and  of  course  the 
State  cannot  lawfully  receive  it  for  any  different  institution  or 
purpose.  The  act  of  Congress  is  paramount  to  the  statute  of  the 
State." 

Mr.  President,  when  this  Agricultural  School  at  Kingston  was 
established,  I  remember  perfectly  well  the  discussion  that  went  on 
about  this  matter,  it  was  distinctly  understood  by  the  committee 
in  drawing  up  that  bill,  I  think  I  am  perfectly  safe  in  saying  it, 
that  the  bill  was  drawn  up  with  a  view  of  making  that  the  Agri- 
cultural and  Mechanical  College  of  this  State,  and  it  was  simply 
an  inadvertence  that  it  was  not  done.  We  thought  this  Agricul- 
tural School  would  cover  the  whole  question. 

The  opinion  also  says : 

"  We  are  therefore  of  the  opinion  that  said  college,  or  rather, 


52 

said  Brown  University  in  its  behalf,  is  at  present  the  only  institu- 
tion in  the  State  which  is  entitled  to  receive  the  money  due  as 
aforesaid." 

Now  they  make  a  distinction  between  this  college  and  Brown 
University,  and  at  present  neither  this  college  nor  Brown  Uni- 
versity can  take  this  money,  and  it  has  occurred  to  me  that  if 
this  Legislature  before  it  adjourns  just  amends  that  act,  and  makes 
this  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  of  the  State  of 
Rhode  Island,  which  they  meant  to  do  in  the  beginning,  that  was 
the  intention  of  the  act,  you  will  put  an  end  to  all  this  difficulty 
and  settle  this  matter  for  all  time. 

I  think  that  enough  has  been  said  about  this  appropriation  of 
1862  being  for  the  benefit  of  the  agricultural  and  industrial  classes, 
I  think  that  has  been  made  plain  notwithstanding  what  Senator 
Morrill  has  said  about  it.  In  this  later  bill  of  last  summer,  the 
New  Morrill  Bill,  it  refers  to  this  old  Land  Grant  Act  in  this  way : 

"  That  there  shall  be,  and  hereby  is,  annually  appropriated,  out 
of  any  money  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  arising 
from  the  sales  of  public  lands,  to  be  paid  as  hereinafter  provided, 
to  each  state  and  territory  for  the  more  complete  endowment  and 
maintenance  of  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts  now  established,  etc." 

That  is,  this  very  last  bill  which  has  been  passed  appropriating 
from  $15,000  to  $25,000,  refers  to  this  institution  as  an  "  Agricul- 
tural and  Industrial  College,"  notwithstanding  what  has  been  said 
here  (in  a  brief  issued  by  Brown  University)  as  to  it  being  a  mere 
mistake  of  the  printer.  They  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  present 
such  arguments  here. 

Now,  gentlemen,  the  farmers  and  mechanics  of  this  State  look 


53 

upon  this  committee  as  a  committee  appointed  solely  and  singly  in 
the  interests  of  the  school  at  Kingston,  every  man  ;  and  when 
Brown  University  asked  to  confer  through  a  committee  with  the  Leg- 
islature, we  know  that  those  gentlemen  represented  Brown  Univer- 
sity solely  and  alone,  and  all  its  interests — nothing  else.  They 
did  not  want  to  hold  a  hearing  in  this  matter ;  their  minds  were 
made  up ;  they  were  here  as  lawyers  to  defend  the  interests  of 
Brown  University,  and  no  other  interests,  and  against  all  other 
interests.  Now  the  school  at  Kingston  is  the  child  of  the  Rhode 
Island  Legislature,  and  when  this  committee  from  the  Legislature 
was  appointed  I  understood,  and  understand  now,  it  represents 
the  interests  of  this  College  at  Kingston  just  as  much  as  these 
gentlemen  represent  the  interests  of  Brown  University,  and  that 
they  were  appointed  by  the  Legislature  to  confer  with  this  other 
committee,  one  representing  the  State  School  at  Kingston,  the 
other  the  University. 

In  finishing  I  would  say  that  if  there  is  any  little  discrepancy  or 
defect  in  this  law,  to  keep  this  money  away  from  the  Kingston 
school  or  college,  then  remedy  that  and  leave  no  clause  for  these 
people  to  hitch  on  to  hereafter,  and  if  these  gentlemen,  from  the 
corporation  of  Brown  University,  after  having  looked  this  matter 
over,  think  that  they  have  this  old  fund  in  their  hands  and  we 
cannot  help  ourselves,  as  some  gentleman  here  has  said,  we  wont 
quarrel  with  them  about  that,  if  they  want  to  take  that  position  as 
a  great  moral  institution,  and  hold  on  to  what  comes  to  them 
wrongfully  and  illegally.  If  they  can  afford  to  take  that  position 
let  them  stand  on  it,  only,  gentlemen  look  out  that  you  do  not  put 
any  more  money  in  the  same  quarter. 

Representative  Capron,  Secretary  of  the  Commission, 
presented  the  following  letter  from  Providence  County, 
Pomona  Grange  : 


54 

To  the  Honorable  Commission  Appointed  by  the   General  Assembly  of  the  State 
of  Rhode  Island  to  Consider  and  Report  upon  tJie  Disposition   of  the   Agri- 
cultural Funds  : 
Whereas,  The  Corporation  of  Brown  University  did  during  the  summer 
and  fall  last  past  oflfer  to  surrender  to  the  State,  for  use  at  the  Agricultural 
School  at  Kingston,  the  Land  Grant  Fund  of  1862,  a  proposition  which  met 
with  unanimous  commendation  on  the  part  of  the  people  because  the  people 
believe  such  disposition  of  the  fund  just^  right  and  advisable ;  and 

Whereas,  After  the  passage  of  the  New  Morrill  Bill,  so-called,  the  Cor- 
poration of  Brown  Universitjr  did  rescind  the  oflfer  to  surrender  the  aforesaid 
Land  Grant  Fund,  and  now  claim  to  be  entitled  to  the  funds  coming  to  the 
State  under  the  New  Morrill  Bill  aforesaid ;  therefore,  be  it 

Besolved,  That  we,  members  of  the  Providence  County  Pomona  Grange  and 
representatives  of  subordinate  Granges  throughout  the  county,  do  hereby 
respectfully  petition  the  Honorable  Commission  appointed  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  State  to  consider  and  report  upon  the  disposition  of  these 
Agricultural  Funds,  to  advocate  the  withdrawal  of  the  Land  Grant  Fund  from 
the  Corporation  of  Brown  University  (fully  believing  that  the  State  has  the 
right  so  to  do),  and  the  establishment  of  the  State  Agricultural  School  at 
Kingston  as  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  of  the  State,  v;ith  the 
benefits  of  all  the  funds,  rights  and  privileges  conferred  by  the  Land  Grant 
Act  of  1862  and  the  New  Morrill  Bill  of  1890,  and  as  a  commission  and  in- 
dividually give  the  measure  your  earnest  and  hearty  support  on  all  occasions, 
and  will  ever  pray. 

Presented  by 

Cyrus  Taft,  Cumberland  Hill, 
[seal.]  Isaac  Steere,  Burrillville, 

A.  W.  Clark,  East  Providence, 
Delegates  to  the  Hearing. 
Attest : 

George  H.  Thayer,  Master, 
Abraham  L.  Mowry,  Secretary. 

Mr.  A.  A.  Smith,  of  Woonsocket,  next  spoke.     Mr. 
Smith  said : 

I  am  here  to-day  as  a  practical  working  farmer.     I  think  I  un- 
derstand the  sentiment  of  the  farmers  all  over  this  State,  and  the 


55 

impression  is  firmly  fixed  in  their  minds  that  the  purpose  of  the 
Land  Grant  Act  of  1862  has  not  been  fulfilled.  I  wished  to  con- 
firm that  impression.  I  did  not  go  to  Brown  University,  but  I 
thought,  why  would  it  not  be  well  to  ask  some  of  the  students  who 
had  been  educated  under  this  grant  what  their  impression  was  re- 
garding it.  I  did  not  see  a  large  number,  I  would  have  been  glad 
to  see  more,  but  I  believe  that  a  large  majority  of  them  would 
have  answered  my  questions  in  the  same  way  as  those  that  I  asked. 
I  said  to  one,  "  What  was  your  purpose  in  entering  under  that 
scholarship  ?  Was  it  to  obtain  a  mechanical  or  agricultural  educa- 
tion, did  you  intend  to  enter  the  workship  or  the  farming  business, 
or  anything  of  that  kind  ? "  The  answer  was,  "  No,  sir,  I  intended 
to  be  a  professor,"  and  he  is  at  the  present  time  professor  of 
Greek  in  the  State  of  New  York.  I  said  to  another  young  man, 
"  What  was  the  purpose  of  your  brother  in  entering  Brown  Uni- 
versity— an  education  for  mechanical  and  agricultural  purposes  ?  " 
The  answer  was,  "  Not  at  all,  law,  nothing  else  but  law.  What 
agricultural  education  was  given  him  was  forced  upon  him.''  1 
would  like  to  have  some  of  you  here  ask  your  Secretary  of  State  if  his 
purpose  in  entering  upon  one  of  those  scholarships,  was  education 
in  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts,  or  whether  it  was  law.  Ask 
your  friends  about  this  matter. 

Now  has  the  student  not  been  a  party  to  this  deception  ?  We  do 
not  blame  the  young  men  for  desiring  an  education,  and  here  let 
me  say  if  I  had  a  son  who  desired  a  classical  education  I  think  I 
should  mortgage  the  old  farm,  rather  than  not  have  him  go,  and 
should  send  him  to  Brown  University;  but  if  he  wanted  an  agricul- 
tural or  mechanical  education,  it  is  the  last  place  I  would  send 
him,  and  I  think  that  is  the  impression  qf  the  farmers  and  me- 
chanics of  the  State.  It  will  take  time  to  obliterate  that  impres- 
sion. Now  what  is  the  impression  of  many  of  the  farmers  and 
mechanics  of  the  community  in  relation  to  the  Kingston  School, 


56 

That  it  is  a  school  for  a  mechanical  or  agricultural  education  ;  not 
perhaps  to  fit  a  man  to  go  home  and  build  a  stone  wall,  or  hold  a 
plough  better,  not  that  it  would  make  him  a  better  pile  driver,  a 
better  teamster,  but  that  he  will  make  a  better  farmer ;  that  as  a 
result  of  this  education  carried  on  in  this  State  the  plains  of 
Kingston  will  not  be  so  barren  as  they  now  are,  and  the  hills  of 
Cumberland  will  be  either  covered  with  fruit  or  forest  trees,  that 
we  shall  better  know  the  soil  of  Rhode  Island  than  at  present  and 
make  it  more  productive. 

I  had  some  little  experience  in  circulating  these  petitions. 
Every  man,  ivith  one  exception,  signed  readily  and  said,  "  God 
bless  you,  and  may  you  succeed."  The  feeling  of  the  people  of 
this  State  has  been  with  the  farmer  ;  that  this  committee,  if  pos- 
sible, should  help  the  farmer  and  mechanic.  I  believe  that  they 
desire  to  do  it.  The  purpose  of  that  bill  I  believe  was  not  to  help 
the  rich  man's  son  to  get  a  classical  education  in  Brown  Univer- 
sity, but  to  educate  the  son  of  the  hard-working  man  in  the  shop, 
and  educate  him  to  take  charge  of  a  machine  shop  or  to  be  a  mas- 
ter mechanic ;  to  educate  the  son  of  the  toiler  on  the  farm  to  be 
a  better  farmer  than  his  father  was. 

Another  item.  One  of  the  sons  of  Rhode  Island  desired  to  have 
a  mechanical  education.  Did  he  go  to  Brown  University  ?  No. 
Where  did  he  go  ?  He  went  to  Cornell,  where  he  acquired  that 
education.  He  was  one  of  the  "  Aggy  "  crew  that  won  the  boat 
race  with  Harvard,  and  after  leaving  he  immediately  received  a 
position  in  a  machine  shop  at  very  good  wages.  Did  he  not  know 
of  Brown  University  ?  Was  Brown  his  choice,  and  will  it  ever  be 
what  Cornell  is  ?  I  have  heard  very  little  of  the  classical  gradu- 
ates from  Cornell,  they  may  be  as  good  as  from  Brown,  but  I 
wouldn't  want  to  own  it.  So  far  as  a  classical  education  is  con- 
cerned, I  would  send  a  child  to  Brown  sooner  than  to  Harvard  or 
Yale,  and  I  believe  that  I  voice  the  sentiment  of  the  farmers  and 


57 

mechanics  of  Rliode  Island,  and  so  far  as  the  farmers  are  concern- 
ed I  think  the  farmers  present  will  believe  me  when  I  say  1  have 
a  right  to  know  the  sentiment  of  the  farmers  all  over  the  State. 
But  it  is  presumptuous  for  a  working  farmer  to  come  here  and  at- 
tempt to  argue  with  lawyers.  I  wish  I  had  had  an  education  at 
Brown  University  that  I  might  have  better  said  what  I  have  said 
to  you  to-day. 

Mr.  A.  W.  Brown,  of  West  Kingston,  spoke  as  follows  : 

The  ground  has  been  so  well  covered  that  I  will  attempt  only  a 
few  points,  and  first  the  interest  of  the  agricultural  class  in  this 
matter.  I  would  like  to  call  your  attention  to  the  representation 
of  farmers  not  only  at  this  hearing,  but  all  the  hearings  from 
1862  to  the  present  time,  and  it  is  the  sentiment  of  the  industrial 
classes  of  the  United  States.  Now  when  this  fund  was  put  into 
the  hands  of  Brown  University  the  Legislature  resolved, 

"  That  the  faith  of  the  State  be  and  is  hereby  pledged  to  the 
United  States,  that,  upon  the  receipt  of  the  Scrip  provided  to  be 
issued  under  the  said  Act  of  Congress,  it  will  faithfully  apply  the 
proceeds  thereof  to  the  objects,  and  in  the  manner  prescribed  by 
this  act."  Now  as  citizens  of  the  United  States,  we  ask  that  the 
purposes  of  this  Act  be  carried  out  as  intended.  Brown  Univer- 
sity claims  that  it  has  received  no  benefit  from  the  moneys  placed 
in  its  charge,  but  I  claim  that  it  has  received  large  advantages 
under  the  Grant.  The  public  dissatisfaction  for  the  past  twenty- 
five  years,  has  compelled  the  University  to  liberalize  its  course,  to 
open  its  doors  more  widely,  and  so  has  been  brought  more  in 
touch  and  in  sympathy  with  the  present  age,  and  that  advantage 
is  far  more  to  them  than  it  has  cost.  I,  for  one,  still  hope  that 
Brown  University  through  its  corporation  will  yield  this  point 
that  they  will  not  press  any  claim  which  they   may  have  derived 


58 

through  the  illegal  act  of  a  former  legislature,  but  will  yield  to 
what  I  think  is  the  justice  of  the  case  in  the  opinion  of  the  greater 
part  of  the  community.  I  still  hope  and  expect  that  they  will  do 
so.  I  think  the  legal  gentleman  who  represented  the  University 
at  the  previous  hearing,  spoke  more  earnestly  and  more  emphati- 
cally than  he  perhaps  meant,  and  I  may  say  that  what  he  said 
rankles  somewhat  in  the  minds  of  those  who  heard  him. 

The  discussion  with  regard  to  these  funds  has  called  a  halt  in 
both  institutions,  and  I  hope  the  legislature  will  place  the  funds 
where  they  belong  and  where  it  believes  they  will  be  for  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  people.  The  legislature  of  1862  in  placing  this 
fund  in  the  hands  of  Brown  University,  put  a  nickel  in  the  slot, 
thinking  that  the  machinery  was  all  right  and  the  result  would  be 
satisfactory. 

The  Institution  at  Kingston  is  doing  well,  but  the  legislature 
ought  to  see  to  it  that  they  are  held  strictly  accquntable  to  make 
that  Institution  such  as  will  be  to  the  advantage  of  the  State  of 
Rhode  Island.  It  is  their  business  to  see  that  the  Institution  is 
what  it  was  intended  for.  Among  other  things,  its  report  to  the 
legislature  should  be  completely  itemized,  showing  where  every 
cent  of  the  public  money  is  expended.  I  believe  the  money  goes 
properly,  but  in  the  reports  of  our  towns  we  know  where  every 
dollar  is  expended,  and  something  of  that  kind  ought  to  be  re- 
quired with  this  Institution. 

Mr.  A.  M.  Clarke,  of  East  Providence,  said  : 

I  wish  to  say  a  word  or  two.  I  do  not  wish  this  fund  to  re- 
main in  the  hands  of  Brown  University.  I  do  not  believe  the 
education  that  it  gives,  is  the  education  desired  by  the  farmer  and 
mechanic.  The  students  who  go  there,  go  there  for  a  classical 
education  ;   they  are  prepared  with  the  necessary  means  for  ob- 


59 

taining  it,  or  obtain  it  through  the  scholarships,  and  they  expect 
to  keep  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  rest  of  the  students  of  the 
school.  The  scholar  who  goes  to  obtain  an  agricultural  or  a  me- 
chanical education  goes  from  the  field  or  work-shop  to  the  class- 
room ;  he  does  not  stop  on  every  occasion  to  dress  for  parade  in 
his  best  suit  of  clothes  and  it  would  not  be  advisable  that  time 
should  be  spent  in  that  way.  If  the  two  institutions  are  close 
together,  the  difference  in  dress  between  the  two  divisions  will 
cause  a  distinction  which  will  make  the  working  student  feel  as  if 
he  was  in  some  way  inferior  to,  or  beneath  the  other,  and  this 
will  deter  those  for  whom  the  gift  was  intended,  from  receiving 
the  benefit  of  it.  I  do  not  believe  in  mixing  the  two.  I  do  not 
think  the  two  are  compatible,  if  the  two  kinds  of  education  are  at- 
tempted there  will  be  a  divided  interest,  and  the  farmers  of  the 
State  do  not  want  a  divided  or  half  interest,  nor  a  divided  service, 
they  want  the  best  that  can  be  accorded. 

The  Rev.  A.  L.  Clark,  of  Kingston,  was  the  next  speaker. 
He  said : 

Mr.  Chairman :  Perhaps  I  ought  not  to  intrude.  I  did  not 
expect  to  say  anything  to-day,  but  I  wish  to  speak  a  few  words  in 
regard  to  the  place  that  this  institution  at  Kingston  seems  to 
occupy  in  the  educational  interests  of  the  State. 

It  seems  hardly  necessary  that  there  should  be  this  hearing; 
that  the  faculty  of  this  institution  should  have  to  take  this  work 
upon  themselves,  with  the  work  they  have  already  been  engaged  in 
and  are  carrying  out,  and  that  they  should  have  to  be  troubled  and 
anxious  lest  the  basis  of  supplies  be  cut  off  from  the  work  begun 
there — work  which  has  been  commissioned  to  them  by  the  State, 
and  which  the  people  of  the  State  demand.  And  I  make  a  plea 
here  in  behalf  of  not  only  the  farmers,  not  only  the  mechanics, 


60 

not  only  the  factory  operatives,  but  in  behalf  of  the  higher  educa- 
tional interests  of  the  State.  It  has  seemed  to  me  that  it  ought 
not  to  have  been  necessary  for  Brown  University  to  have  had  its 
hearing,  and  thus  to  have  advanced  any  claim  for  these  agricultu- 
ral funds,  not  for  the  sake  of  the  law,  which  I  do  not  attempt  to 
understand  altogether,  nor  for  the  sake  of  generosity  or  patriot- 
ism, but  for  the  sake  of  the  relation  that  Brown  University  and 
every  college,  like  Yale,  Amherst,  or  Dartmouth,  has  to  these  in- 
stitutions which  have  been  established  by  the  Government  to  meet 
the  wants  and  demands  of  the  people  of  this  nation  ;  because 
there  is  a  relation — 1  will  not  attempt  to  speak  of  it,  but  it  should 
be  considered,  and,  also,  not  only  the  generous,  but  the  high  ideas 
of  the  wants  of  the  community  which  liberally  educated  men,  like 
the  faculty  and  corporation  of  Brown  University  and  other  insti- 
tutions should  take  and  have  taken.  Such  as  the  Agricultural 
College  at  Amherst  holds  in  relation  to  the  other  colleges  and  the 
general  educational  interest  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts.  But 
I  want  to  say  a  word  in  regard  to  the  spirit  I  have  seen  shown 
already  at  this  institution  at  Kingston ;  a  word  of  hearty  approba- 
tion. Its  relation  to  the  people  who  have  become  acquainted  with 
it  is  very  marked  and  decided.  The  first  class  are  heartily  en- 
gaged in  very  delightful  and  practical  work  and  study.  One  of 
the  older  members  of  'this  first  class,  a  young  man  over  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  told  me  voluntarily  two  or  three  days  ago  that 
he  would  not  take  a  thousand  dollars  for  the  opportunity  which 
he  has  had  this  year  and  is  to  have  for  this  course  in  study  and 
training.  He  said,  "  I  longed  for  such  a  course ;  our  district 
school  education  was  inferior.  I  wanted  the  training  that  would 
qualify  me  for  a  market  gardener,  a  horticulturist.  When  this 
institution  was  opened  I  heard  of  it  and  made  some  inquiry  about 
it,  and  was  told  that  under  certain  conditions  I  could  enter.  I 
studied  with  all  my  might,  and  through  the  favor  of  the  principal  I 


61 

entered."  That  is  the  spirit  and  tone  of  the  twenty-five  or  thirty- 
young  men  there.  You  could  very  easily  bring  there  or  at  Brown 
University  a  few  engines  and  lathes  and  machines  from  some 
machine  shops  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  mechanical  de- 
partment to  a  high  degree  of  perfection.  I  saw  young  men  there 
engaged  in  practical  work  which  I  was  pleased  to  see.  I  said  to 
the  superintendent,  "  Who  made  this  box  for  depositing  papers  ?  " 
and  a  nice  bulletin  board.  He  said  that  it  was  made  in  the  work- 
shop below,  and  with  not  very  good  facilities.  That  is  something 
very  practical  and  which  I  believe  will  be  carried  on,  and  not  only 
that,  but  the  agricultural  department  relating  to  experimental 
work.  That  has  already  been  touched  upon  and  infused  a  spirit 
which  has. already  taken  possession  of  these  young  men  and  given 
them  new  ideas  of  agriculture.  Not  only  those  coming  from  the 
country  alone — the  farmers'  sons — will  seek  this  school ;  there 
may  be  many  of  them  there,  but  it  is  a  place  that  will  be  open  to 
and  will  be  occupied  by  young  men  from  the  cities,  with  just  such  a 
place  in  the  country  and  just  such  influences  as  are  needed  for 
many  young  men  who  have  graduated  from  the  high  schools.  It 
will  be  an  institution  in  this  State  that  can  take  its  stand  between 
the  district  schools,  the  high  schools,  and  Brown  University.  No 
one  knows  the  value  of  a  college  education  more  than  myself, 
the  advantages  of  studying  at  one  of  the  first  colleges  of  the 
country,  but  I  believe  there  is  a  class  of  young  men  that  will  come 
there  by  scores  and  demand  help  and  sympathy  and  a  place  to 
pursue  its  course  of  studies  such  as  could  not  go  to  Brown  Uni- 
versity, and.the  standard  as  brought  out  there  is  just  what  they 
need  for  a  three  or  four  years'  course  of  study.  Therefore,  as  1 
see  the  enthusiasm  of  the  men  who  are  engaged  in  the  work,  and 
the  hard  work  done  there  that  shows  from  the  beginning  what  it 
has  already  done,  I  have  thought  this  institution  ought  to  be  the 
pride  and  glory  of  this  State,  and  should  be  supported  by  any  in- 


62 

terest  that  might  be  demanded  or  any  sacrifices  that  might  be 
made. 

Mr.  Thomas  H.  Clarke,  of  Jamestown,  said: 

It  was  Charles  Reade  who  said  "  If  you  would  know  tlie  needs 
of  a  man  and  his  surroundings,  put  yourself  in  his  place."  To 
know  the  need  of  a  farmer  it  would  be  necessary  to  put  ourselves 
in  the  farmer's  place  and  look  at  this  question  from  his  standpoint. 
There  is  no  school  in  the  State  that  needs  reinforcement  so  much 
as  the  country  school,  and  the  farmer  knows  that  from  experience. 
He  is  removed  from  business  and  educational  centers  and  wishes 
to  educate  his  son,  give  him  a  good  education,  not  perhaps  a  clas- 
sical education,  but  a  good  common  school  education.  He  can 
send  him  to  the  common  schools  of  his  district,  but  what  are  these 
schools  ?  They  are  experience  schools  where  the  teacher  first 
steps  into  the  profession,  where  teachers  are  changed  year  after 
year,  where  the  boys  get  discouraged  in  their  education,  because, 
as  each  new  teacher  comes  in  he  says,  "  We  will  go  over  this 
again,  because  I  do  not  know  just  where  you  are."  The  farmer 
says,  "  I  must  send  my  children  where  they  will  get  a  good  educa- 
tion," and  they  go  into  the  cities,  the  villages,  and  are  educated 
away  from  the  farm,  not  perhaps  with  the  consent  or  approval  of 
the  educator,  but  they  are  educated  to  look  down  on  the  farm  and 
the  labor  there  as  being  beneath  their  dignity,  and  that  that  kind 
of  work  is  degrading.  That  is  the  way  the  farmer  views  the  edu- 
cational question  to-day. 

Now  when  we  look  at  the  subject  as  it  has  been  analyzed  here 
to-day,  that  Brown  University  has  taken  and  is  holding  these 
funds  illegally,  that  I  do  not  want  to  say.  The  State  did  what  it 
could  do  at  the  time  and  did  it  honestly,  there  was  no  other  place 
open  where  they  could  turn  over  that  fund,  but  to-day  it  is  chang- 
ed.    Brown   University   has  done  well   with   the   fund,  has  done 


63 

what  she  could,  but  to-day  there  is  another  institution  which  is 
designed  to  give  a  practical  education,  and  which  coiiies  directly 
under  this  act. 

We  say  a  tree  is  known  by  its  fruits.  We  will  look  at  these 
educational  institutions.  What  has  Brown  University  done  especi- 
ally for  the  farmer  in  the  past  ten  or  twenty  years  ?  What  bulle- 
tins have  they  sent  out  ?  On  the  other  hand,  look  at  the  bulletins 
sent  out  from  Kingston.  What  has  awakened  this  interest  if  not 
the  agricultural  work  done  there  ? 

Now  when  we  come  right  down  to  the  fine  point  of  education, 
what  per  cent,  let  me  ask  you,  of  the  population  of  this  State  have 
a  good  common  school  education  ?  If  we  look  at  the  histoiy  of 
the  different  schools,  and  at  the  numbers  beginning — suppose  we 
take  one  grade  as  an  example  of  the  schools  in  a  certain  city  ;  there 
were  300  persons  in  the  intermediate  grade,  follow  these  persons 
along  through  the  school,  when  they  passed  into  the  grammar 
school  75  dropped  out,  the  next  grade  150,  and  when  they  reached 
the  high  school  only  eleven  of  the  three-hundred  were  there,  and 
one  only  graduated  from  the  high  school. 

Now  Brown  University,  it  seems  to  me,  will  be  well  occupied 
in  furnishing  the  classical  education  that  she  has  been  furnishing 
in  the  past,  let  her  not  divide  her  energy  nor  undertake  what  she 
cannot  carry  out.  Let  us  have  the  Experiment  Station  with  the 
State  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  as  an  additional  help, 
and  it  will  meet  the  wants  of  the  farmers.  It  will  help  our  young- 
men,  for  the  young  men  have  spoken  in  the  petitions,  and  they 
ask  these  their  fathers  to  come  here  and  represent  them.  I  be- 
lieve that  this  Legislature  still  exists,  and  governs ;  the  State  was 
not  abolished  when  that  trust  was  turned  over  to  Brown  Univer- 
sity ;  they  still  have  being  and  power  and  we  trust  the  power  will 
be  exercised  in  the  right  direction. 


64 

Mr.  Flagg. — Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  "decision"  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  As  I  understand  it,  it  was  not  a  decision,  but 
an  opinion.  Now  the  University  says  in  its  brief,  "  Moreover,  the 
University  holding  the  former  grant  m  trust  could  not  honestly 
disregard  its  duties,  which  assumed  new  clearness  and  emphasis 
when  the  Supreme  Court  decided  that  the  University  was  the  only 
agency  in  the  State  capable  of  performing  the  trusts  of  the  Acts 
of  1862  and  1890." 

I  wish  also  to  call  attention  to  the  word  "  capable."  As  I 
understand  it,  the  capability  of  the  two  institutions  as  to  fulfilling 
the  conditions  of  the  law  was  not  a  question  propounded  to  the 
Court.  The  question  was  as  to  the  Institution  which  was  entitled 
to  the  fund.  If  this  word  "  capable "  is  construed  to  mean 
"  entitled,"  it  would  be  as  the  Court  gives  its  opinion,  but  I  take 
exception  to  the  word  "  capable,"  I  do  not  think  the  Court  gave 
any  opinion  in  relation  to  the  relative  capability  of  the  two  institu- 
tions, as  regards  fulfilling  the  law. 

.  Dr.  H.  J.  Wheeler,  of  the  State  Experiment   Station    at 
Kingston,  spoke  as  follows : 

I  did  not  come  here  to-day  with  the  idea  of  saying  anything  on 
this  question,  but  I  do  think  one  point  ought  to  be  more  thoroughly 
touched  upon  than  it  has  been  ;  that  is  why  were  these  commis- 
sioners appointed  to  go  to  Germany  years  ago  and  investigate  the 
agricultural  condition  of  that  country.  We  had  at  that  time  our 
Brown  University,  we  had  Yale,  Amherst,  Princeton,  Harvard : 
we  had  institutions  where  chemistry  was  taught,  physics  was 
taught,  where  nearly  all  of  the  pure  sciences  were  taught.  Now 
I  say  for  the  teaching  of  pure  sciences  was  it  necessary  for  them 
to  go  to  Europe  and  study  agricultural  science  ?  Was  it  to  estab- 
lish another  college  where  the  pure  sciences  should  be  taught  ?  1 
believe  not.    I  believe  the  idea  was  to  establish  institutions  where 


65 

agricnlture  should  be  taught,  for  it  is  acknowledged  that  agricul- 
ture lies  at  the  basis  of  all  other  industries,  and  I  believe  the  idea 
in  furnishing  these  institutions  was  to  provide  an  opportunity  for 
young  men  who  graduate  from  the  grammar  schools  and  cannot 
avail  themselves  of  the  privileges  of  Brown  University,  with  its 
present  entrance  requirements,  to  get  an  education.  Now  I  say 
that  the  young  men  who  are  studying  in  the  Agricultural  School 
at  Kingston  are  typical  of  the  young  men  who  are  scattered  all 
over  the  United  States,  and  these  young  men  who  are  studying  at 
Kingston  to-day  never  would  have  been  able  to  enter  Brown  Uni- 
versity ;  it  is  impossible  for  young  men  coming  from  the  farm  to 
prepare  themselves  in  Latin  and  Greek.  Now  suppose  the  Uni- 
versity says,  "  We  will  lower  our  standard,  establish  a  separate 
and  distinct  department  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  case."  I 
say  exactly  the  same  situation  would  be  brought  about  as  exists  in 
the  town  of  Amherst,  where  the  Agricultural  College  was  estab- 
lished. I  remember  when  the  term  "  Aggie  "  was  applied  to  the 
students  of  the  Agricultural  College  as  a  term  of  derision.  I  re- 
member when  the  agricultural  students  won  the  race  against  Har- 
vard and  Yale  and  the  men  called  them  "  Aggies  "  as  a  term  of 
derision.  I  have  the  pleasure  to  be  acquainted  with  one-half  of 
the  class  which  graduated  in  1881  from  the  agricultural  depart- 
ment of  Cornell  University.  The  class  numbered  two,  and  one- 
half  the  class  was  from  the  State  of  New  York,  and  the  other  half 
of  that  class  came  from  the  State  of  Massachusetts.  Now  if 
Brown  University  established  a  separate  department  and  these 
men,  as  has  been  claimed,  can  be  educated  more  economically 
than  the  classical  students,  the  classical  students  are  goino- 
to  look  down  on  these  men.  For  centuries  we  have  been  taught 
that  the  only  education  was  a  classical  education — that  a  man  not 
well  versed  in  Latin  and  Greek  was  not  an  educated  man,  and 
when  Charles    Francis  Adams,   Jr.,    went    before   the    Phi    Beta 


66 

Kappa  Society  and  advocated  a  scientific  education  he  thrcAv  a 
bomb  shell  into  the  camp  of  those  who  advocated  a  classical  edu- 
cation alone.  I  believe  the  two  must  be  separate,  for  the  men 
who  are  taking  the  purely  classical  courses  will  consider  them- 
selves a  little  better  than  the  others. 

I  would  like  also  to  say  something  as  to  the  position  of  our  In- 
stitution at  Kingston.  Much  has  been  said  against  ii^§  location, 
but  I  will  say  if  you  are  to  send  your  son  to  an  institution,  do  you 
not  believe  it  is  better  for  him  to  be  surrounded  by  the  influences 
at  Kingston,  than  by  the  influences  in  this  city  ?  Another 
thing,  young  men  who  are  supposed  to  take  advantage  of  this 
course,  this  practical  course,  are  men  younger  than  those  entering 
Brown,  less  able  to  withstand  the  temptations  of  city  life. 

I  say  attempt  to  unite  the  two  and  you  will  establish  class  dis- 
tinctions. There  is  a  feeling  within  the  mind  of  every  American 
citizen,  that  he  is  just  as  good  as  any  other  American  citizen,  and 
your  son,  or  your  brother,  or  your  sister  will  not  go  to  an  institu- 
tution  where  a  man  taking  a  course  in  agriculture  as  a  specialtyj 
is  going  to  be  looked  down  upon.  In  order  to  avoid  class  distinc- 
tions, let  them  be  separate,  and  surrounded  by  the  best  influences 
to  which  the  students  can  be  subjected. 


BULLETIN    OF  THE    RHODE    ISLAND   COLLEGE 
OF   AGRICULTURE    AND    MECHANIC    ARTS. 

VOL.    3.    NO.    4.     PART    2.  FOR    FEBRUARY,    1908. 

PUBLISHED    QUARTERLY    BY    THE    COLLEGE 

MAY,    AUGUST,     NOVEMBER,    FEBRUARY. 

ENTERED   AT  KINGSTON,    KHODB   ISLAND,    AS   SEOOND-CLASS    MATTER. 


COMMUNICATION. 


From   the   Board   of   Managers    of   the   Rhode   Island 

College  of  Agriculture  and   Mechanic  Arts 

TO  THE  Governor  and  the  General 

Assembly  of  Ehode  Island. 


To  His  Excellency,  the  Governor,  and  the  Honorable,  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island  and 
Providence  Plantations : 

In  recect  discussion,  public  as  well  as  private,  concern- 
ing the  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts  at  Kings- 
ton, there  has  appeared  such  evident  desire  for  more  exact 
and  definite  inforination  concerning  the  institution,  its  history, 
character,  and  purposes,  that  it  has  seemed  incumbent  on  us, 
the  Board  of  Managers,  to  communicate  to  you  at  this  time, 
a  somewhat  comprehensive  statement.  We  accordingly  beg 
your  consideration  of  the  representations  here  brought  to- 
gether, la  making  this  statement,  we  are  actuated  solely 
by  the  desire  that  you  may  come  to  a  realizing  sense  of  the 
value  of  the  gift  which  the  general  government  is  offering 
to  us  and  our  children,  and  may  take  measures  to  make  its 
benefits  accrue  to  the  State  in  largest  degree.  The  gift  is  to 
the  people  of  the  State,  not  to  us  ;  our  obligation  is  only,  in 
strict  conformity  with  the  law,  to  administer  our  trust  so 
that  it  may  serve  the  largest  number  in  the  largest  way. 

I.  History.  The  story  of  the  college  begins  with  the 
U.  S.  land-grant  act  of  1862  which,  while  clearly  describing 
the  education  it  was  intended  to  subsidize,  bestowed  on  each 
state  accepting  the  provisions  of  the  act  a  grant  of  30,000 
acres  of  the  public  land  for  each  senator  and  representative 


■    2 

it  had  in  Congress  at  that  time.  Accepting  this  grant, 
Rhode  Island  received  scrip  for  120,000  acres  of  the  public 
land  "subject  to  sale  at  private  entry  at  11.25  per  acre." 
Brown  University  was  made  the  beneficiary  of  the  land-scrip 
fund,  and  so  remained  until  the  year  1894. 

Meanwhile  a  desire  for  change  of  beneficiary  had  arisen, 
and,  in  1888,  after  Congress  had  passed  the  "Hatch  Act," 
giving  to  each  State  |15,000  per  year  to  establish  and  main- 
tain  "  under  the  direction  of  the  college  or  colleges    

established in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  an 

act  approved  July  2,  1862"  an  agricultural  experiment  sta- 
tion, this  desire  was  so  great  that  an  agricultural  school, 
presumably  meeting  the  demands  of  the  act  sufficiently  to 
enable  it  to  attach  to  itself  the  projected  experiment  station, 
was  begun  and  maintained  at  Kingston. 

In  1890,  the  second  Morrill  Act  gave  to  each  land-grant 
school  the  sum  of  $15,000  increasing  the  amount  b.y  $1,000 
each  year  until  the  yearly  grant  should  reach  $25,000  and 
continuing  it  thereafter  at  $25,000  each  year.  The  Agricul- 
tural School  at  Kingston  claimed  this  fund.  But  a  Supreme 
Court  decision  invoked  by  Gov.  Davis  declared  that,  inas- 
much as  the  school  did  not  purport  to  be  a  college,  it  could 
not  receive  the  fund,  and  that  Brown  University  was  at  that 
time  the  only  institution  in  the  State  which  was  entitled 
to  receive  the  money.  Brown  had  previously  offered  to  re- 
turn the  '62  fund.  On  the  announcement  of  this  decision, 
however.  Brown  revoked  its  offer,  then  pending  in  the  vaca- 
tion of  the  legislature,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  make 
contracts  with  the  State.  In  the  absence  of  legislation,  the 
funds  from  the  1890  act  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  State 
and  Treasurer.  In  1892.  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Ehode 
Island  Legislature  chartering  the  Agricultural  School  as  a 
college  (see  Public  Laws,  January  Session,  1892,  Chapter 
1078).  Section  2  of  this  act  gave  to  this  college  "all  moneys 
hereafter  received  under  said  act  of  Congress  approved  March 
2,    1887,    (the  Hatch   Act)   and  under  the  act   of    Congress 

approved  August  30,  1890 and  all  other  moneys  which 

shall  be  received  by  the  State  for  the  promotion  of  agricul- 
ture or  the  mechanic  arts  under  or  by  virtue  of  any  act  of 


Congress."  This,  however,  did  not  serve  to  settle  the  mat- 
ter. The  State  treasurer  was  enjoined  from  paying  the  sums 
over  to  the  treasurer  of  the  college,  and  after  a  decision  of 
the  United  States  Circuit  Court  in  favor  of  the  agricultural 
college,  the  matter  went  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States.  While  it  was  pending  there,  an  agreement  was  reached, 
in  1894,  between  Brown  University  and  the  State,  and,  in 
consequence,  the  suit  before  the  United  States  Court  was 
withdrawn.  By  that  agreement  or  contract.  Brown  Univer- 
sity, in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  $40,000  paid  to  its  treas- 
urer by  the  State,  returned  to  the  State  the  fund  derived 
from  the  sale  of  the  land- scrip  hereinbefore  mentioned 
amounting  to  $50,000  and  released  and  discharged  "to  the 
State  of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations  all  its 
claims  upon  said  State  of  every  nature,  whether  arising  from 
the  location  and  sale  of  the  lands  under  the  land- scrip  men- 
tioned in  said  resolution  ( Resolution  for  settlement  with 
Brown  University,  April  19,  1894)  or  otherwise,  and  all  its 
claims  to  or  upon  the  moneys  heretofore  received  and  that 
shall  be  hereafter  received  by  or  that  shall  hereafter  accrue 
to  the  State  of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations 
under  the  act  of  Congress  of  August  30,  1890,  mentioned  in 
said  resolution."  By  virtue  of  the  previous  act  of  the  State 
Legislature,  these  funds  came  then  to  the  Rhode  Island  Col- 
lege, and  have  since  constituted  the  main  support  of  the 
college. 

II.  Organization.  As  at  present  constituted,  the  college 
has  three  distinct  departments,  each  independently  manned 
and  independent  of  the  others  in  its  purposes  and  its  sources 
of  support.  There  are  (A)  the  Experiment  Station  depart- 
ment, (B)  the  Extension  department,  and  (C)  the  Teaching 
department  ;  designed  respectively  ;  (a)  for  the  discovery  and 
investigation  of  new  truth  in  nature,  (b)  for  the  dissemina- 
tion of  information,  direction  and  advice  among  the  people 
of  the  state  who  stand  in  need  of  it  and  cannot  come  to  the 
college  to  obtain  it,  and  (c)  for  the  direct  teaching  of  such 
branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the 
mechanic  arts,  in  order  to  promote  the  ' '  liberal  and  practical 
education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and 


professions  in  life."  The  work  of  the  Experiment  Station  is 
clearly  stated  in  the  Act  of  Congress  of  1887  (Hatch  Act)  as 
follows  :  It  shall  be  the  object  and  duty  of  said  Experiment 
Stations  to  conduct  original  researches  or  verify  experiments 
on  the  physiology  of  plants  and  animals,  the  diseases  to 
.which  they  are  severally  subject,  with  the  remedies  for  the 
same,  the  chemical  composition  of  useful  plants  at  their 
different  stages  of  growth,  the  comparative  advantages  of 
rotation  cropping  as  pursued  under  a  varying  series  of  crops; 
the  capacity  of  new  plants  or  trees,  for  acclimation;  the 
analysis  of  soils  and  water,  the  chemical  composition  of 
manures,  natural  or  artificial,  with  experiments  designed  to 
test  their  comparative  effects  on  crops  of  different  kinds, 
the  adaptation  and  value  of  grasses  or  forage  plants,  the 
composition  and  digestibility  of  the  different  kinds  of  food 
for  domestic  animals,  the  scientific  and  economic  questions 
involved  in  the  production  of  butter  and  cheese,  and  such 
other  researches  or  experiments  bearing  directly  on  the  agri- 
cultural industry  of  the  United  States  as  may,  in  each  case, 
be  deemed  advisable,  having  due  regard  to  the  varying  con- 
ditions and  needs  of  the  respective  states  or  territories.  " 

To  show  the  line  of  cleavage  between  the  work  of  the  col- 
lege as  such  and  that  of  the  experiment  station,  note  the 
following  rulings  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,-  October 
25,  1897.  "  This  department  holds  that  no  portion  of  the  funds 
appropriated  by  Congress  in  accordance  with  the  Act  of 
March  2, 1887,  can  legally  be  used,  either  directly,  or  indirectly, 
for  paying  the  salaries  or  wages  of  professors,  teachers,  or 
other  persons  whose  duties  are  confined  to  teaching,  adminis- 
tration, or  other  work  in  connection  with  the  courses  of  in- 
struction given  in  the  colleges  with  which  the  stations  are 
connected,  or  any  other  educational  institution.  Nor  should 
any  other  expenses  connected  with  the  work  or  facilities  for 
instruction  in  school  or  college  courses  be  paid  from  said  fund. 
In  case  the  same  persons  are  employed  in  both  the  experi- 
ment stations  and  other  departments  of  the  college  with 
which  the  station  is  connected,  a  fair  and  equitable  division 
of  salaries  or  wages  should  be  made  and  in  case  of  any  other 
expenditures  for  the  joint  benefit   of  the  experiment  station 


and  the  other  departments  of  the  .college  the  aforesaid  funds 
should  be  charged  with  only  a  fair  share  of  such  expend- 
itures." 

Working  under  these  provisions,  the  experiment  station 
has  done  a  vast  amount  of  valuable  work  for  the  State.  A 
prominent  educational  authority,  not  connected  with  the  in- 
stitution at  Kingston,  a  man  of  high  standing  in  the  State, 
recently  remarked  that  the  results  of  the  station  work  on 
the  one  matter  of  the  action  of  lime  on  the  soil  have  been 
worth  to  the  State  far  more  than  the  total  expense  of  the  ex- 
-  periment  station.  The  said  station  has  done  much  other 
work  of  equal  grade  and  value. 

The  first  two,  the  experiment  station  department  and  the 
extension  department,  it  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  describe 
more  circumstantially  at  this  time.  But  the  college  proper, 
the  work  of  direct  instruction  and  training  for  the  young 
people  who  attend,  it  seems  well  clearly  to  define  and  delimit. 

The  two  acts  of  Congress,  that  of  1862  and  that  of  1890, 
are  quite  clear  in  their  description  of  the  kind  of  school  it 
was  intended  to  foster.  While  alloiving  the  teaching  of  many 
things,  they  require  certain  things  quite  definitely. 

The    "  leading  object  shall  be to  teach    such 

branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  Agriculture  and  the 
Mechanic  Arts."  (See  Act  of  1862.)  "Twenty-five  thou- 
sand dollars  to  be  applied  only  to  instruction  in  agriculture, 
the  mechanic  arts,  the  English  language,  and  the  various 
branches  of  mathematical,  physical,  natural  and  economic 
science,  with  special  reference  to  their  applications  in  the  . 
industries  of  life  and  to  the  facilities  for  such  instruction." 
( See  act  approved  August  30,  1890.)  "  Fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars to  be  applied  only  for  the  purposes  of  the  agricultural 
colleges  as  defined  and  limited  in  the  Act  of  Congress,  ap- 
proved July  2,  1862,  and  the  Act  of  Congress  approved 
August  30,  1890."  (  See  Nelson  amendment  to  the  Agricul- 
tural Appropriation  Act  approved  March  4,  1907.) 

The  instruction,  too,  must\)Q  of  collegiate  grade.  "An 
act  donating  public  lands  to  the  several  States  and  Territo- 
ries which  may  provide  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  Agriculture 
and  the  Mechanic  Arts."     (  See  Act  approved  July  2,  1862.) 


6 

That  the  word  college  is  used  advisedly  is  shown  by  the  pro- 
vision that  the  funds  shall  be  divided  in  certain  States  be- 
tween "  one  college  for  the  white  students"  and  one  institution 

for  colored  students  " "  however  named  or  styled," 

"the  fullfillment  of  the  foregoing  provisions  shall  be  taken 
as  a  compliance  with  the  provisions  in  reference  to  separate 
colleges  for  white  and  colored  students."  (See  Act  appi'oved 
August  30,    1890.) 

These  colleges  are  required  to  include  both  engineering  and 
agriculture.  This  is  shown,  first,  by  the  language  of  the 
Acts — "  such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  Agricul- 
ture and  the  Mechanic  Arts.''''  (See  Act  of  1862.)  The  Act 
of  1890  distinctly  specifies  and  enumerates  what  subjects 
shall  be  taught  and  names  immediately  after  agriculture 
"the  mechanic  arts."  Nothing  can  be  clearer  than  that  the 
intention  was  to  include  provision  for  the  two  great  indus- 
trial classes,  viz. ;  the  farmer  and  the  mechanic.  We  have 
previously  noted  the  fact  that  the  instruction  is  to  be  of  col- 
legiate grade.  Now  when  you  have  instruction  in  mechanic 
arts  of  collegiate  grade,  it  moist  inevitably  be  what  is  techni- 
cally called  engineering. 

In  the  second  place,  it  is  shown  by  the  interpretation  placed 
on  the  wording  of  the  bills  by  their  author,  Senator  Morrill, 
in  his  speeches  in  advocacy  of  the  bills.  ' '  The  most  advanced 
studies  were  not,  it  will  be  remembered,  to  be  excluded  from 
these  colleges,  yet  they  must  not  fall  short  in  the  branches 
related  to  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts,  but  must  lead  in 
the  highest  instruction  asked  for  by  the  industrial  classes, 
which  have  made  and  must  keep  our  country  foremost  in 
character,  wealth  and  power  among  nations."  ( See  speech 
of  Senator  Justin  S.  Morrill,  June  14,  1890.) 

Thirdly,  it  is  shown  by  the  interpretation  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Education  whose  form  of  report  provides  separate 
categories  for  required  statistics  on  mechanical  and  other 
phases  of  engineering.     ( See  form  of  report  appended.) 

Finally,  it  is  shown  by  the  practice  of  every  state  that  has 
this  grant.  Every  state  and  territory  in  the  United  States 
has  provided  for  engineering  courses  under  the  land -grant 
act,  with  the  exception  of  Connecticut,  which,   after  having 


paid  to  Yale  University  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars  as  the  price  of  withdrawing  the  national  aid,  has 
ceased  to  subsidize  said  University  with  a  portion  of  the 
United  States  fund  in  return  for  scholarships  in  the  Sheffield 
Scientific  School,  and  is  now  establishing  a  mechanical  de- 
partment at  the  Agricultural  College  at  Storrs,  according  to 
oral  information  received  from  the  president  of  that  school. 
The  only  other  land-grant  college  which  does  not  combine  agri- 
cultural courses  with  engineering  courses  is  Massachusetts.  In 
that  state  the  engineering  work  is  done  by  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology,  and  the  land-grant  funds  are  ac- 
cordingly divided. 

From  this  discussion,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  required  work 
of  land-grant  colleges  consists  of  collegiate  training  (a)  in 
agriculture,  (b)  in  engineering.  In  conformity  with  these 
requirements,  the  faculty  of  the  Ehode  Island  College  of 
Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts  have  arranged  the  courses  for 
such  collegiate  work.  They  demand  for  entrance  on  the  said 
collegiate  work  such  preparation  as  is  needed  for  the  success- 
ful prosecution  of  the  specific  subjects  involved  in  the  said 
courses,  and  no  others.  While  they  earnestly  advise  all 
young  people  whose  circumstances  will  permit  such  a  course 
to  remain  in  the  high  school  for  four  full  years,  irrespective 
of  whether  all  the  subjects  pursued  are  needed  in  prosecuting 
the  work  of  this  college,  yet  since,  up  to  the  present  time, 
secondary  schools  of  a  character  adapted  to  prepare  directly 
for  our  collegiate  forms  of  industrial  and  technical  training 
have  not  been  established  in  any  considerable  number  through- 
out the  country,  and  since  it  is  of  vital  importance  to  the 
industrial  classes  for  whom  the  land-grant  schools  were  es- 
tablished, that  the  institution  should  not  be  unnecessarily 
difficult  of  access  for  members  of  said  classes,  both  farmers 
and  mechanics,  this  college  makes  no  requirement  touching 
the  mere  number  of  years  spent  in  the  high  school,  asking 
only  that  the  applicant  show  evidence  of  satisfactory  attain- 
ment (a)  in  English  (usual  college  entrance  requirements, — 
the  main  stress,  however,  not  on  knowledge  of  the  authors 
and  writings  presented,  but  on  the  ability  and  ease  shown  in 
correct,  accurate,  well-ordered  and  forceful  expression);  (b)  in 


8 

algebra  through  quadratics;  (c)  in  plane  geometry;  (d)  in 
elementary  German  or  French  ;  (e)  in  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  physics  (or  the  equivalent  in  some  other  science) ;  (f ) 
in  history  (one  full  year  of  high  school  work  on  history,  an- 
cient, mediaeval,  modern,  or — specifically  and  preferably — 
English.) 

The  work  of  the  courses  themselves  is  planned,  not  for  the 
man  who  intends  to  carry  his  formal  education  on  into  the 
graduate  field  at  this  or  some  other  school,  but  for  the  pur- 
pose of  turning  out  young  people  who,  under  direction,  will 
be  able  to  carry  out  actual  industrial  work,  either  in  field,  or 
shop,  or  office,  with  that  trained  intelligence  and  ready  skill 
so  much  in  demand  to-day  ;  gradually  acquiring,  in  actual 
practice,  the  experienced  and  trustworthy  judgment  and  ripe 
self-reliance  necessary  for  successful  command  in  due  time. 
The  courses,  too,  provide  for  the  development  of  the  whole 
nature,  physical,  intellectual,  moral  and  spiritual,  intimately 
combining,  throughout  all  their  range,  the  vocational  theory, 
science,  and  practice,  with  the  bistorical,  economic,  linguistic 
and  literary  work  that  are  of  the  first  importance  in  shaping 
the  youth  as  neighbor,  citizen  and  man. 

In  order  to  be  of  still  larger  service  to  the  industrial  classes 
the  college  has  projected  and  is  carrying  on  a  number  of 
short  courses  and  special  courses  in  agriculture  and  mechanic 
arts,  from  six  weeks  to  two  years  in  length,  wherein  purely 
practical  vocational  information  and  such  hand  and  brain 
training  as  is  possible  are  given  for  the  single  purpose  of  im- 
parting day  by  day  increased  efficiency  for  definite  tasks. 
For  these  courses  no  entrance  requirements  other  than  the 
most  elementary  education  is  made  ;  and  they  are  in  no 
sense  preparatory  for  degree  courses. 

Value  of  the  Work. 

The  best  measure  of  the  value  of  such  courses  is  obtained 
by  considering  the  funds  invested  year  by  year,  by  the  various 
states,  in  the  maintenance  of  such  schools,  in  order  to  obtain 
the  full  benefits  of  the  land-grant  funds.  For  the  year  1905 
the  total  property  valuation  of  those  schools  was  eighty-one 


9 

and  a  quarter  million  dollars.  They  had  buildings  valued  at 
twenty-eight  millions,  apparatus  and  machinery  amounting 
to  four  and  a  half  millions,  and  libraries  worth  two  and  a 
half  millions.  The  maintenance  funds  from  the  United 
States  amounted  to  two  million  dollars,  while  the  states  con- 
tributed nearly  six  million  dollars  to  the  same  schools  ;  that 
is  to  say,  the  states  contributed  66f%  of  the  total  amount 
^oing  to  these  schools.  A  recent  statement  from  Congress- 
man C.  R.  Davis  is  to  the  effect  that,  during  the  year  1907, 
while  the  amount  from  the  United  States  Government  has 
remained  practically  stationary,  the  appropriations  of  the 
states  have  riseii  to  nearly  85%  of  the  total  fund  accruing  to 
these  schools  during  the  past  year.  From  the  very  beginning 
of  the  distinctively  land-grant  schools  forty-four  years  ago, 
they  have  steadily  fought  their  way  into  public  esteem  and 
favor,  and  now  hold  a  recognized  position,  which  explains 
the  marked  advance,  as  measured  by  monetary  standards, 
from  66f%  to  85%.  The  Government  fund,  which  consti- 
tutes the  remaining  percentage  in  each  case,  did  not  decrease 
in  actual  amount,  but  the  15%  of  1907  was  $240,000  greater 
that  the  33^%  of  two  years  before.  Men  do  not,  over  an 
area  as  great  as  the  whole  United  States,  uniformly  spend 
their  money  in  a  steadily  enlarging  stream  for  forty-four 
years,  unless  there  is  accompanying  such  expenditure  a  cor- 
respondingly assured  and  widening  realization  of  increased 
return.  Over  areas  where  the  predominant  industrial  work 
is  manufactures,  as  well  as  where  it  is  agriculture,  the  posi- 
tion and  value  of  the  land -grant  college  is  assured  and  un- 
questioned. It  is  admitted  that  these  colleges  are,  in  a 
marvelous  degree,  serving  the  industrial  classes,  "  who  look 
only  to  a  life  of  honorable  effort  and  labor  ; "  that  they 
operate  against  the  constant  tendency  ' '  to  lift  the  cost  of  in- 
struction out  of  the  reach  of  the  many,"  and  are  "leading 
in  the  highest  instruction  asked  for  by  the  industrial  classes, 
which  have  made  and  must  keep  our  country  foremost  in 
character,  wealth  and  power  among  nations."  It  should  be 
recognized  (1)  that  this  State  has  the  same  industrial  classes 
as  have  other  states,  and  that  these  stand  in  need  of  the 
same  service  :  (2)  that  there  is  no  reason  why  the  United 


10 

states  grants  of  money  cannot  be  made  to  do  as  efficient  ser- 
vice here  as  elsewhere  ;  and  (3)  that,  if  the  service  is  not  being 
rendered,  such  fact  constitutes  a  reason,  not  for  depriving  the 
State  of  the  benefits  of  the  grants  from  the  General  Govern- 
ment, but  for  investigation  and  re-adjustment  so  that  the 
largest  benefit  may  be  obtained  for  all  the  people. 

Resources. 

The  permanent  property  of  this  institution  was  reported  in 
1905  at  $331,000.  There  has  been  much  re-adjustment  and 
some  $25,000  worth  of  additions  in  buildings  and  equipment 
since  that  time.  Making  due  allowance  for  old  material 
discarded  as  comparatively  useless,  it  is  still  fair  to  rate  the 
present  permanent  property  of  the  institution  at  some 
$340,000.  Of  this,  there  is  a  library  valued  at  twenty-three 
thousand  dollars,  engineering  apparatus  and  equipment  valued 
at  nearly  twenty-four  thousand  dollars,  and  agricultural 
apparatus  and  equipment  valued  at  ten  thousand  dollars. 

The  income  for  the  year  190T  was 

FOR  THE  EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

United  States  Funds: — 

(a)  From  the  Hatch  Fund   (cannot  be   used 

for  teaching) $15,000  00 

(b)  From  the  Adams  Fund  (cannot  be  used 

for  teaching) 8,000  00 

Note.- — The  Adams  Fund  yielded  $3500  January  1, 
to  July  1,  $1500  July  1  to  December  31, 
1907. 

(c)  From  Department  sales 1,156  71 

(d)  From  Interest 135  1^ 

FOR  THE  EXTENSION  DEPARTMENT,   (exclu- 
sive of  teaching  department.) 

From  State  Funds: — Included  in  the  annual  main- 
tenance fund  of  $25,000.     (See  below.) 2,500  00 

FOR  THE  COLLEGE  PROPER. 

(a)     United  States  funds  as  follows  : — 


11 

(1)  Income  from  150,000  land-grant  fund. .  .%  3,500  00 

(2)  "  "      1890  Morrill  fund 25,000  00 

(3)  "  "      Nelson  Amendment 2,500  00 

Note. — $5,000   increase  began  July   1,  1907,  and 

yielded  to  January  1,    1908,    the  $2500 
mentioned  under  (3). 

(b)  From  the  State: — 

(1)  Annual  Maintenance  fund 25,000  00 

(2)  Repairs  (1907) 3,639  00 

(c)  From  other  sources  : — 

(1)  Tuition  for  non-residents  of  Rhode  Island .  885  20 

(2)  Laboratory  fees  (for  all  students) 1,546  72 

(3)  Incidental  fees  (for  all  students) 1,006  00 

(4)  Sales  and  service  rendered  (departments).  5,369  67 

(5)  Room  rent  in  dormitories. 2,397  89 

(6)  Interest 320  31 

(7)  Miscellaneous 108  90 

Total 194,556  54 

Note. — It  will,  of  course,  be  understood  that  (2),  (3),  (4) 
and  (5)  are  gross  receipts  from  these  sources,  not  net  income. 

Expenditures  are  as  Follows  for  Year  1907. 

Note. — The  United  States  fiscal  year  runs  from  July  1  to 
July  1,  and  the  report  submitted  to  the  General  Assembly 
February  1,  contains  statements  for  United  States  funds  as 
presented  to  the  Department  at  Washington  ;  that  is  to  say, 
said  United  States  reports  cover  the  latter  half  of  the  year 
1906,  and  the  first  half  of  the  year  1907,  while  the  reports  for 
State  funds  take  in  the  whole  year  1907  and  nothing  more. 
Consequently,  in  attempting  to  make  this  statement  for  both 
funds  cover  the  same  space  of  time  (1907),  we  have  made 
figures  for  expenditures  from  United  States  funds  for  the  first 
half  of  the  year  by  simply  dividing  by  two  the  amounts, 
already  reported  to  the  legislature. 

Morrill  Fund  (1890)  :— 

Instruction  (January  to  July,  1907).  $11, 856  84 


12 


Text  books  and  reference  books.  .  .     $    21  49|^ 

Apparatus 563  13^ 

Stock  and  material 58  53 

$12,500  00 

Morrill  Fund  (1890)  from  July  1  to  December  31,  1907  :— 

Instruction $13,292  42 

Text  books  and  reference  books ..  .         272  16 

Apparatus 911  20 

Stock  and  material 2,392  37 

Tools  and  machinery 12   30 

116,880  45 

Note. — Of  this  amount  $9,296.74  have  been  paid  from  cur- 
rent funds,  (See  statement  of  Current  Fund)  because  of 
closure  of  Union  Trust  Company,  where  the  whole  Morrill 
Fund  for  the  year  from  July  1,  1907  to  July  1,  1908  had  been 
deposited. 

-State  Maintenance  : — 

Salaries $2,909  21 

Traveling 590  21 

Postage  and  stationery 621  91 

Construction  and  repairs 1,887  70 

Oil  and  gasolene 256  81 

Fuel 4,604  62 

Telephone  and  telegraph 322  86 

Feeds 851  92 

Freight  and  express 410  65 

Labor 9,426  70 

Fertilizer •   405  42 

Commencement 325  12 

Horse  shoeing 116  79 

Seeds 150  67 

Laboratory  material 200  58 

Tools 203  64 

Furniture 95  15 

Books 46  75 

Lectures 49  50 

Entertainment 324  14 

Pasturage 50  00 


13 

Dormitory  rental I    40  00 

Advertising    in    publications    and 

circulars 433  03 

Miscellaneous 676  92 

$25,000  00' 

State  Repairs  : — 

For  repairs  and  improvement  (labor  and  ma- 
terial)     12, 371  53. 

From  other  sources  (Current  Fund ) : — 

Salaries $493  06 

Traveling 140  11 

Postage  and  stationery 9688 

Gasolene  and  oil 68  82 

Fuel 4  00 

Telegraph  and  telephone 10  87 

Feed 8  20 

Freight  and  express 22  81 

Labor 1,958  87 

Advertising  in  publications 180  32  , 

Entertainment 182  33 

Construction  and  repairs 178  61 

Commencement 131  62 

Laboratory  material 18  00 

Typewriter 73  50 

Miscellaneous 182  50 

$3,750  50 

Note. — Since  the  closing  of  the  Union  Trust  Company,  all 
projected  college  expenditures  that  could  be  deferred  have 
been  put  off  until  some  settlement  with  said  Trust  Company 
can  be  reached. 

Experiment  Station  : — 

Salaries .$13,170  80 

Labor 3, 241  36 

Publications,  postage,  etc. 287  40 

Freight  and  express 131  54 

Supplies • 1,785  90 

Library 580  65 

Apparatus,  fixtures,  etc 1,000  17 

Live  stock 443  50 


14 

Traveling  expense $    556  65 

Heat,  light  and  water 555  75 

Contingent   expenses 61  32 

Buildings  and  repairs 1,115  30 

$22,929  98 

New  Factor  Introduced. 

Your  Board  of  Managers  have  deemed  it  right,  at  the  pre- 
sent time,  to  ask  the  State  for  an  added  appropriation  of 
$75,000  this  year.  The  reasons  for  this  are  two-fold  :  (1) 
The  institution  is  now  greatly  in  need  of  larger  accommoda- 
tions. When  the  present  dormitory  and  boarding  hall  were 
planned,  it  was  not  supposed  that  accommodations  for  more 
than  fifty  or  sixty  students  wo  aid  ever  be  needed.  The  school 
enrolls  at  the  present  time  152  students,  of  whom  127 
are  in  actual  attendance  at  the  present  moment.  We  are 
asking,  then,  first  of  all,  for  actual  present  necessities.  (2) 
In  addition,  however,  we  need  to  provide  for  the  immediate 
future.  The  income  from  the  1890  Morrill  Fund  has  been 
increased  the  present  year  by  $5,000,  and  the  same  amount 
will  be  added  each  following  year  until  the  whole  amounts, 
July  1,  1911,  to  $50,000.  It  seems  that,  with  the  doubling 
of  our  yearly  income  from  the  General  Government,  larger 
provision  should  be  made  for  students  who  may  obtain  ben- 
efit from  it.  The  fund  is  here  with  which  to  enlarge  and 
strengthen  equipment,  provided  roof  space  ( for  which  gov- 
ernment funds  can  not  be  expended)  is  given  for  the  equipment 
when  bought,  and  for  the  students  that  would  use  it.  If  we 
would  use  the  nation's  gift  for  our  own  benefit  and  for  that 
of  our  children's  children,  we  must  treat  the  situation  in  a 
large  and  far-seeing  way.  It  is  a  question  of  taking  the 
funds  and  providing  wisely  and  liberally  for  the  obligations 
which  they  carry  ;  or  turning  them  back  into  the  national 
treasury  ^nd  refusing  for  ourselves  and  our  children  all  ben- 
efit from  the  increased  grant — a  grant  which  comes  to  Rhode 
Island  in  exactly  the  same  amount  as  it  does  to  the  empire 
state  of  New  York.  It  surely  cannot  be  held  that  we  have 
no  industrial  classes  to  benefit.  They  may  not,  it  is  true, 
themselves  appreciate  at  the  present   time  or  to  the  full  ex- 


15 

tent,  the  tremendous  advantages  of  these  benefits.  It  must 
be  part  of  the  task  of  those  who  man  the  college  to  awaken 
and  extend  interest.  But  we,  in  the  conscientious  discharge 
of  our  duty  as  officers  of  the  Commonwealth  cannot  afford 
to  consider  only  the  immediate  present.  In  1862,  when  Mr. 
Morrill  caused  the  passage  of  the  first  land -grant  college  act, 
the  discussion  shows  that  not  one  man  in  a  thousand  realized 
the  epoch-making  nature  of  the  movement.  Yet  recently,  the 
foremost  educational  authority  in  the  United  States  pro- 
nounced this  act  "next  to  the  ordinance  of  1787  the  most 
important  educational  enactment  in  America."  Knowing 
the  course  of  events  in  other  states  and  throughout  the  years 
since  1862,  and  trusting  to  the  future  for  confirmation  of 
our  judgment,  we  approach  you  with  the  firm  conviction 
that,  in  treating  this  matter,  we  ai'e  dealing  with  the  factor 
that  will  work  most  profoundly  on  the  future  of  the  State. 
There  is,  in  our  opinion,  no  question  of  state  now  before 
you  for  consideration  that  approaches  in  importance  the 
question  of  adequate  provision  for  the  efficient  use,  now  and 
in  the  future,  of  the  national  grants  to  industrial  education 
in  this  State. 

A  Pertinent   Example. 

In  re- shaping  and  renewing  the  vitality  of  educational 
thought,  no  school  in  the  United  States  has  played  a  more 
important  part  than  has  the  Michigan  Agricultural  College. 
As  a  model  from  which  to  work,  it  has  controlled  and  directed 
the  growth  of  great  schools  from  Maine  to  Australia.  Its 
graduates  may  be  found  as  progressive  educational  leaders  in 
the  majority  of  the  States  of  the  Union.  It  has  beneficently 
touched  and  shaped  the  destinies  of  that  great  state  in  count- 
less ways  and  at  innumerable  points.  While  we  should  be- 
ware of  servilely  copying  any  model,  however  excellent  in 
itself  and  in  its  own  environment,  yet  certain  points  in  the 
early  history  of  this  great  school,  we  may  well  consider  at 
this  time. 

At  the  same  age  as  our  institution  at  Kingston,  it  aggre- 
gated only  ten  more  graduates,  and  was  being  scornfully 
criticised  in  the  same  manner  and  for  the  same  causes.     The 


16 

files  of  Detroit  newspapers  thirty  years  ago  will  furnish,  con- 
cerning the  Michigan  school,  almost  exact  duplicates  of  the 
letters  we  have  been  recently  reading  in  the  Sunday  corres- 
pondents' columns  of  the  Providence  newspapers  for  and 
against  the  college  at  Kingston.  To-day,  however,  the 
Michigan  school  has  fought  its  battle  and  won.  The  state, 
last  year,  for  instance,  completed  for  its  college  a  building 
for  engineering  exclusively,  that  cost  over  $120,000,  and 
this,  too,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  its  great  University,  sixty 
miles  away  and  supported  exclusively  by  the  state,  has  an 
engineering  department  superbly  manned  and  equipped.  It 
is  recognized  that  the  two  schools,  both  belonging  to  and 
maintained  by  the  state,  yet  serve  different  constituencies  in 
the  state  and,  in  any  case,  the  fact  that  both  are  crowded 
demonstrates  the  need  of  both.  To  the  two  schools  together 
the  state  gave  last  year,  outside  of  its  gifts  to  three  normal 
schools  and  one  normal  college,  the  sum  of  $881,000.  Yet 
the  State  of  Michigan  has  only  four  times  the  aggregate 
wealth  and  five  times  the  number  of  inhabitants  that  this 
State  of  ours  has.  We  are  asking  this  State  to  do  not  quite 
one-eighth  of  what  Michigan  has  done.  Last  year  we  asked 
for  only  about  one  thirty-second. 

Conclusion. 
We  have  felt  it. our  duty  to  call  your  attention  to  the  mat- 
ters herewith  submitted.  We  earnestly  believe  that  the 
largest  interests  of  all  will  be  served  by  making  liberal  pro- 
vision for  the  school,  and  by  the  steady  maintenance  of  the 
lines  of  policy  now  being  followed.  It  remains  for  you  to 
consider  and  determine,  in  your  wisdom,  whether  you  will 
approve  the  principles  on  which  we  are  administering  the 
public  trust  reposed  in  us. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

/  J.  V.  B.  WATSON, 
Board         \  tHOS.  G.  MATHEWSON, 
of         '     )  C.  H.  COGaESHALL, 
Managers.       i  CHAS.   DEAN  KIMBALL, 
\  R.  S.  BURLINGAME. 
February  28,  1908. 


\ 


